BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BATAVIA -- Michael Hull, a permanent resident alien from Australia who considers the United States paradise for anyone willing to work hard, is now a convicted felon facing a maximum of 4 1/2 years in prison.
His crime: He has voted three times since 1996 as a registered voter -- a right he did not have because he lacks citizenship.
Mr. Hull, a Miami Township construction foreman, said Wednesday that voting was an innocent mistake and that the possibility of jail or deportation is devastating to him and his wife, Missy, a Milford native.
Mr. Hull, 42, a father of three, will be sentenced July 9 by Judge Jerry McBride in Clermont County Common Pleas Court. He pleaded no contest recently to three counts of illegal voting, each a fourth-degree felony carrying six to 18 months in prison and a maximum fine of $15,000. Carolyn Massas, of the Immigration and Naturalization Service regional office in Cleveland, said that if the INS is notified, the felony conviction would automatically prompt a deportation hearing. INS would have discretion on whether to force Mr. Hull to leave.
"This is a great country, the best in the whole world because of the opportunities," Mr. Hull, who works for Klekamp & Co., said Wednesday. ". . . If you're prepared to work in this country, and work hard, the world is at your feet."
His difficulties began in early 1996, when he went to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to renew his truck license and was offered a voter registration card. He told them he was born in New Zealand (he grew up in Australia) but filled out the form without noticing U.S. citizenship was required.
When he received a jury-duty card in the mail last October, he noticed that it required U.S. citizenship and returned it, saying he didn't qualify. The Clermont County Board of Elections called the prosecutor's office, which notified the sheriff.
Mr. Hull, who has lived here since 1995, was watching the news on TV in his pajamas at 8 p.m. Nov. 14 when sheriff's deputies arrived. He had voted 10 days earlier at Milford High School. He surrendered his passport and was released.
County Elections Director Don Travis said his office routinely scans new voter applications, checking Social Security numbers and foreign birthplaces. "I'm not sure why we didn't catch his," he said.
"I haven't even had a parking ticket," Mr. Hull said.
Judge McBride said he'll "have to hear arguments (at sentencing) and remain open-minded," adding, "this is a first for me."
