MANKATO — On Nov. 4, 2008, Election Day, Raul Alejandro Valdez walked into his local polling place, made his selection and turned in his ballot. Like so many other Americans, he took part in democracy.

Now that act, in theory, could wind him up in prison.

Valdez has been charged in Blue Earth County District Court with a felony for, essentially, voting when he wasn’t eligible. The charge is based on the fact that felons are unable to vote while they are on probation, and Valdez was on probation for a crime for which he was labeled a “predatory offender.”

At some point he failed to register with authorities as such, was charged with another crime and placed on probation. It was while he was on probation that the alleged voting infraction occurred.

But that was three years ago. How’d they come to file charges now?

The county was given a list of names by a group that follows voting rules and infractions. Authorities contacted by The Free Press were unsure of the group’s identity, but the list included names that the group thought may have voted illegally.

And it wasn’t just Blue Earth County. Such challenges took place across the state, and prosecutions occurred in several counties.

While The Free Press was unable to determine who gave the list to Blue Earth County, a group called Minnesota Majority is said to have been behind the filing of charges in a handful of counties including Ramsey, Hennepin and Beltrami.

Minnesota Majority has been one of the major proponents behind the push to eliminate what it calls widespread voter fraud. In the months following the election, the Republican Party backed up the group’s claims.

The group wants to institute a system that would require an official photo ID for all voters. But in the case of Valdez, it’s unlikely an ID requirement would have made a difference.

Lists of registered voters at polling places do not flag those ineligible. And photo IDs issued by the state do not indicate whether the presenter’s criminal activity has rendered him or her ineligible.

Nevertheless, lists were passed on to county attorneys. And when presented with evidence that a crime has been committed, prosecutors pursued it.

“In a case like this, we go pretty much the letter of the law because it really doesn’t provide a gray area,” Assistant Blue Earth County Attorney Mike Hanson said. “We have discretion, certainly, but we’re also tasked with making sure that laws are being enforced.”

In this case, Valdez’ crime was committed three years ago, and wasn’t even remotely similar to the original offense. Still, rules are rules, Hanson said, and he’s got to do what he’s got to do.

Plus, he said, it’s unlikely Valdez will go to prison. While determining whether to file charges is a follow-the-letter-of-the-law situation, punishment, it seems, is a little grayer.

“These aren’t the type of cases where we’re going to push to send people to prison unless they have a history of voter fraud,” he said.

If they did, it’d be a costly notion for taxpayers. According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, the annual cost of incarcerating a man in prison is more than $40,000. If given the most severe prison sentence allowable, (extremely unlikely, granted) he’d be in for five years at a ballpark cost to taxpayers of $200,000.

Det. Jerry Billiar of the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Department said he was responsible, at the County Attorney Office’s behest, for investigating roughly 30 cases. He said about 10 of them wound up with criminal charges.