Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit have released a joint statement saying a non-U.S. citizen is facing charges for voting in the 2024 general election.
According to the secretary of state's office, a 19-year-old University of Michigan student from China went to the campus early voting site on Sunday, which is one of six locations in Ann Arbor. The student then registered to vote using his university ID card, showed documents proving residency in Ann Arbor and signed a document identifying as a U.S. citizen.
Since the ballot was filled out and put into the tabulator, there’s no way to take it back. Benson's office confirmed the illegal ballot will be counted this election.
“I think it’s terrible,” Michigan junior Max Friedman said. "It kind of pissed me off, personally.”
Friedman says he was not surprised a non-citizen student would attempt to register to vote illegally, whether knowingly or unknowingly, but was surprised he was able to.
"I'm not surprised that it happened, but I'm surprised it actually counted and they actually got credit for voting," Friedman said. "Everybody here, they shove it in your face — oh are you voting? Are you voting? Vote early. Everybody needs to vote — and they don't even ask if you're American. We have a lot of international students.”
University of Michigan freshman Benjamin Zeng spent a decade in China but was born in the U.S.
“I was very surprised. I didn't expect it to be possible," Zeng said. "When I voted, it required a lot of proof.”
Zeng also has friends at the university who are from China but aren’t U.S. citizens, like Sing Chenli. Chenli says it's "common sense" to know you can't vote without U.S. citizenship. He's also not surprised the punishment for doing so could lead to jail time, fines and possibly deportation.
“I kind of expect that because I know how voting is the right of a citizen, and it's a big deal," Chenli said. "So any foreigner doesn't want to mess with it.”
The issue was discovered after the student contacted the Ann Arbor City Clerk’s Office and asked if he could get the ballot back. The clerk then reported it to the police.
“This is the one time it was documented. How many other times is this happening that we don't really know about?" Friedman questioned. "I know this is one of the most polarizing elections in recent history... People are skeptical over what happened last time. The fact that things are being proved to have happened already is a little ridiculous to me.”
Benson and Savit say instances of this happening are extremely rare. They released a statement that details more about the case:
Following an alleged violation of the law involving a non-U.S. citizen voting at an Ann Arbor early voting site on Sunday, October 27, the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office has authorized criminal charges of (1) Unauthorized Elector Attempting To Vote, in violation of MCL 168.932a(c), and (2) Perjury – Making a False Affidavit for Purpose of Securing Voter Registration, in violation of MCL 168.933.
All charges are allegations only, and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Only U.S. citizens can register and vote in our elections. It is illegal to lie on any registration forms or voting applications about one’s citizenship status. Doing so is a felony.
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.
No other details have been released.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released the following statement on the case:
My office is aware of the Ann Arbor voter fraud 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.
As with previous election-law related cases, the Department of Attorney General has commenced an independent, parallel investigation into this matter.
This story was originally published by Brett Kast on Scripps News Detroit.
