Syracuse Woman Charged With Noncitizen Voting Says She Learned Of Adoption Recently

Marva Cook, a 66-year-old Syracuse woman, faces a federal misdemeanor charge of voting as a noncitizen, based on her vote in the 2022 election; prosecutors also allege she voted in multiple elections over the years while holding a green card. Cook says she had long believed she was a U.S. citizen and only recently discovered, while searching for her biological mother, that she was adopted and born in Germany. She turned herself in and was released, and has objected to being shackled at her court appearance. If convicted, she could face up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine, as well as possible deportation; the allegations have not been tested at trial. The case is among arrests promoted by the Trump administration as it pursues alleged noncitizen voting ahead of the midterm elections.