ANN ARBOR (WWJ) — Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit announced Wednesday a non-U.S. citizen allegedly illegally registered to vote and cast a ballot in Ann Arbor last weekend.
The person has been identified in a report from The Detroit News as a 19-year-old University of Michigan student from China.
While the student in question is in the country legally on an education visa, he was not legally allowed to vote in the election because he is not a citizen. The man, whose name has not been released, has been charged with being an unauthorized elector attempting to vote and perjury — making a false affidavit for the purpose of securing voter registration.
Both charges are felonies, with the former carrying a punishment of up to four years in prison.
The News reported the student registered to vote on Sunday using his UM student ID and other documents establishing residency in Ann Arbor. The Secretary of State’s Office said he then signed a document identifying himself as a U.S. citizen and his ballot was entered into a tabulator.
According to a joint statement released Wednesday by Benson and Savit, the student contacted the local clerk's office seeking his ballot back. It is unclear if that is how he came to the attention of election workers.
But despite being flagged as having voted illegally, it appears that ballot will count. That’s because once a ballot is entered into a tabulator and processed, there is no way for election officials to retrieve it. It is set up that way to prevent ballots from being traced back to individual voters.
Benson and Savit’s statement Wednesday read, in part:
"We are grateful for the swift action of the clerk in this case, who took the appropriate steps and referred the case to law enforcement. We are also grateful to law enforcement for swiftly and thoroughly investigating this case. Anyone who attempts to vote illegally faces significant consequences, including but not limited to arrest and prosecution.
"Noncitizen voting is an extremely isolated and rare event. Investigations in multiple states and nationwide have found no evidence of large numbers of noncitizens registering to vote. Even less common is a noncitizen actually casting a ballot. When it does happen, we take it extremely seriously. Our elections are secure and Michigan’s state and local election officials carefully follow the law.
"Our duty to the law is paramount, as is our responsibility to ensure that every eligible voter is able to register and cast a ballot.
"Let this be clear: Voting records are public – any noncitizen who attempts to vote fraudulently in Michigan will be exposing themselves to great risk and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Attorney General Dana Nessel released a statement, saying her office is aware of the allegation and subsequent charges.
“It is the responsibility of each and every resident of this state and nation to adhere to the law, and Michigan election law makes clear that non-citizens cannot vote in our elections. We take all allegations of voter fraud extremely seriously, and the public should expect nothing less,” Nessel said. “As with previous election-law related cases, the Department of Attorney General has commenced an independent, parallel investigation into this matter."
WWJ has reached out to the Secretary of State's office for further comment.
With less than a week until the election, Michigan continues to be under the national spotlight as it is a crucial battleground state yet again. When Trump narrowly lost Michigan to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election, Trump maintained there was widespread voter fraud in Michigan, as well as other states. Bipartisan canvassing boards, a number of court rulings and an investigation by the Michigan Senate Oversight Committee all found no evidence to support his claims.