He’s been in the U.S. ever since in a bizarre legal limbo. He can’t qualify for citizenship and Cuba has refused to take him back, so he’s been stuck on “parole.” He remains here with only the barest of legal protections and cannot get a green card. He is decidedly not a citizen.
That did not, however, stop him from showing up at an early-voting location in North Carolina on Nov. 5, 2016, where he not only registered and claimed to be a citizen, but also cast an early-ballot vote that same day.
Mr. Zayas says he went with a friend who was planning to vote. He says the poll worker encouraged him to sign up and vote, too.
He showed his government-issued work permit as identification. The poll worker filled out a form for Mr. Zayas, who cannot read English. He registered as a Democrat. And then he cast his ballot.
To hear the fact-checkers, Mr. Zayas is rarer than a lightning strike. They say noncitizens just don’t vote in U.S. elections. They have too much to lose, the system can detect them, and there’s just no incentive to do it anyway.
Former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson disagree.
