The man and wife have been loyal and regular voters, voting more frequently than many citizens. Only they are not citizens.
Mahmoud Vakili, 67, and his wife, Parvin Vakili, 62, pleaded not guilty last Wednesday to charges of perjury of the election code and mutilation of election material. They were charged in early November, officials said.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Judge John Phillips asked the couple if they were US citizens, to which each responded: “No, sir, I am not.” Both said they were born in Iran.
According to the Lake County Clerk’s office, Mahmoud Vakili first registered to vote in Lake County in 1988 and his wife in 1992.
Since then, Mahmoud Vakili has voted five times and Parvin Vakili seven times, Clerk Willard Helander said. They most recently voted in 2010. “They were very conscientious general-election voters,” Helander said.
Law enforcement officials were tipped off after the Vakilis’ son requested a letter from the clerk’s office to confirm his own voter registration status, Helander said.
As part of the citizenship process, if someone admits to or is suspected of having registered to vote without being a US citizen, that person is required to submit a letter certifying his or her voter registration status, a spokesman for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said. Foreign nationals are forbidden by law to vote in national or state elections.
The clerk’s office is required to process any voter registration applications that it receives, but does not have tools available to confirm someone’s citizenship, Helander said. “It’s a process that is very much an honor system,” she said.
If the Vakilis are convicted, the couple could face as many as five years in prison and then deportation. Deportation is a matter that would be addressed by the Department of Homeland Security, not the Illinois court.
Both of the Vakilis were released from jail on $5,000 bonds. Neither of them has a criminal history in Lake County, according to court documents.