Former Charlotte mayor faces 2014 vote fraud charges

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon will be in the city this week to face charges of casting an illegal vote in 2014.

The Charlotte Observer reported that Cannon is being released from federal prison to be arraigned on the Mecklenburg County charges Wednesday.

Cannon resigned after he was arrested in 2014 on charges of accepting more than $50,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents. The Democrat lost the right to vote when he pleaded guilty that June.

Cannon cast an early vote in the November 2014 election. He told U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney he had voted out of habit. Cannon had not yet started a 44-month prison sentence in the bribery case.

A member of Cannon’s defense team, James Ferguson, said earlier the state action was excessive.

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