Rosa Maria Ortega, a legal permanent resident, was found guilty of illegally voting in the 2012 general election and the 2014 Republican primary. Republican officials are predicted to seize on Ortega’s case to stoke fears about voter fraud to highlight why such restrictions are necessary. Her application was rejected, but the registered Republican was persistent and called election officials to tell them she had successfully voted before. Her sentence Thursday comes as Trump has pledged a federal investigation into voter fraud, even though there is no evidence to suggest that it is widespread. Election officials in the state have said there’s no evidence that’s true.

Source: Huffington Post February 11, 2017 21:22 UTC