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Non-citizen from Wake gets month in prison for illegally voting

A former Wake County elections precinct worker was sentenced Friday to two months in prison for helping a Mexican citizen register to vote in the 2016 election.

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Election Day is Nov. 6, but early voting is underway
NEW BERN, N.C. — A Wake County man who isn't a U.S. citizen has been sentenced to one month in federal prison for illegally voting in the 2016 election, authorities said.

Guadalupe Espinosa-Pena, 61, is a native of Mexico who has permanent residency in the U.S., but his efforts to obtain citizenship have been denied, authorities said.

Still, he registered to vote three years ago and cast a ballot in the November 2016 election, which included races for president and other federal offices.

A former Wake County elections precinct worker, Denslo Allen Paige, was sentenced in February to two months in prison and was fined $250 after pleading guilty to helping Espinosa-Pena complete his voter registration.

In addition to his month in prison, Espinosa-Pena will spend a year on probation following his guilty plea to the charge of illegal voting by an alien.

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