MIAMI (AP) — A Canadian could get up to five years in prison for voting illegally, as well as claiming to be a U.S. citizen in order to purchase guns.

Josef Sever, 52, pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court. The Plantation man was born in Austria, but he had become a naturalized citizen of Canada

Federal authorities said Sever claimed to be a U.S. citizen and bought firearms four different times. He also registered to vote and was able to get a concealed weapons permit from the state of Florida.

Sever wound up voting in the 2008 presidential election.

Florida officials have been pushing to identify and eliminate potential ineligible voters from the state voting rolls. Florida recently obtained access to a federal immigration database that it will use to screen voters.

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