Arizona Man Gets Prison Time for Illegally Voting in 2020 Presidential Election

A poll worker sorts ballots in a file photo taken in Arizona. (Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images)

An Arizona man was sentenced with an 18-month prison sentence on Sept. 12 for illegally voting during the 2020 presidential election, according to the state attorney general’s office.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Roberto Garcia, 35, completed a voter registration form and falsely indicated that he wasn’t convicted of a felony. He also falsely said he had his voting rights restored, according to a Sept. 13 press release from Brnovich’s office, adding that he cast a vote during the 2020 general election.

It isn’t clear who Garcia—who entered a guilty plea on a felony count of illegal voting earlier this year—voted for during the election. Brnovich’s office didn’t release that information.

“The indictment alleged that Garcia falsely completed a voter registration form indicating that he had not been convicted of a felony or that his rights had been restored,” his office said, noting that Garcia was previously convicted of two felonies and didn’t have his voting rights restored.

As part of a plea deal, Garcia admitted he knew that he wasn’t entitled to vote when he cast a ballot on Nov. 3, 2020.

But according to Brnovich’s office: “Garcia’s ineligibility was unknown to Pinal County Election Officials at the time the defendant registered [to vote] in January of 2020, and his vote was counted in the 2020 General Election. ... Garcia will be eligible to register to vote again only after applying for rights restoration after his sentence is complete.”

Garcia is currently serving a prison term for an unrelated offense. Brnovich’s office said his 18-month prison term will be served concurrently with the other prison sentence.

Roberto Garcia, 35, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Sept. 12, 2022, for felony illegal voting. (Arizona Attorney General's Office)

During the election, Joe Biden was certified by Arizona election officials as the winner of the state’s 11 electoral votes. But in the aftermath of the contest, allegations of voter fraud surfaced before culminating in the Legislature-backed audit of Maricopa County in mid-2021.

Arizona lawmakers have since passed election integrity measures such as a proof-of-citizenship requirement. The Biden administration has attempted to block the law from going into effect.

About a month ago, Pinal County saw a slew of ballot problems during the statewide primary that resulted in the resignation of the county’s elections director.

Authorities in Pinal County confirmed in early August that then-elections chief David Frisk “is no longer in the position of Elections Director and is no longer employed by Pinal County” amid widespread complaints about ballot shortages.

“I’m not sure how the ballot shortage happened,” Jeffrey McClure, chairman of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors, told reporters at the time. “We opened the boxes, and there weren’t enough ballots.”