DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) – A Grand Prairie woman who was sentenced to eight years in prison for voter fraud said she believes she is being used as an example.
According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, Rosa Maria Ortega rejected a plea deal of two years probation from the Tarrant County District Attorney and decided to go to trial.
During her trial, she testified that she did not understand the differences in the rights of a United States citizen versus a resident when it comes to voting.
The jury convicted her of illegally voting in Dallas County in the 2012 and 2014 elections. She told WFAA TV she didn’t intend to break the law.
“I didn’t do this crime. I didn’t do nothing. Besides, a mistake and besides not knowing the differences,” said Ortega.
The issue of illegal voting has been on the national forefront since President Donald Trump claimed that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 presidential elections.
Ortega told WFAA TV the current political climate influenced the jury’s decision.
“I know if it was another kind of person walking in there with the judge…with the DA…they would have gotten probation,” she said.
Ortega said she plans on appealing her conviction.
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