Chinese student to face criminal charges for voting in Michigan. Ballot will apparently count

Nov 01, 2024

Ann Arbor — A University of Michigan student who is from China and not a U.S. citizen allegedly voted Sunday in Ann Arbor and is being charged with two crimes, six days before a pivotal presidential election.

The filing of the charges was revealed Wednesday in a statement from Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's office and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's office. The press release didn't identify the student, describing him only as "a non-U.S. citizen."

Subscribers:Voter ID laws get new spotlight after charges against Chinese student in Michigan

The 19-year-old from China was legally present in the United States but not a citizen, which meant he couldn't legally cast a ballot, according to information from the Michigan Secretary of State's office. He registered to vote on Sunday using his UM student identification and other documentation establishing residency in Ann Arbor, signed a document identifying himself as a U.S. citizen and his ballot was entered into a tabulator, according to the Secretary of State's office.

The ballot was cast at an early voting site at the University of Michigan Museum of Art on State Street, according to the Ann Arbor city administrator.

Later, the UM student voter contacted the local clerk's office, asking if he could somehow get his ballot back, according to Benson's office.

The student's ballot is expected to count in the upcoming election — although it was illegally cast — because there is no way for election officials to retrieve it once it's been put through a tabulator, according to two sources familiar with Michigan election laws. The setup is meant to prevent ballots from being tracked back to an individual voter.

"We’re grateful for the swift action of the clerk in this case, who took the appropriate steps and referred the case to law enforcement," said a joint statement from the offices of Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit. "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."

Benson and Savit are both Democrats.

The person, who has not been identified, is being charged with perjury — making a false statement on an affidavit for the purpose of securing voter registration — and being an unauthorized elector who attempted to vote. The latter allegation is a felony punishable by up to four years behind bars and a fine of up to $2,000, according to Michigan law. The standard penalty for perjury in Michigan is 15 years in prison, but it's unclear what it would be in this case involving lying on an application to vote.

A UM police detective gave a swear-to on a law enforcement investigation Wednesday morning before 15th District Court Magistrate Tamara Garwood for two election charges against the student sought by Savit, court administrator Shryl Samborn said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the student had not yet been arraigned. The student is being represented by UM Student Legal Services, Samborn said.

UM spokeswoman Colleen Mastony directed questions Wednesday to Benson's and Slavit's offices.

In a message to the Ann Arbor City Council members, obtained by The Detroit News, Milton Dohoney Jr., the city’s administrator, said there had been an instance of “potential voter fraud in Ann Arbor” involving a University of Michigan student who’s a green card holder.

“Through a series of actions, the student was apparently able to register, receive a ballot and cast a vote,” Dohoney wrote in an email Monday. “Based upon the scenario that we’re hearing this morning, the student was fully aware of what he was doing, and that it was not legal.”

Dohoney acknowledged in the email that the story might get “picked up by the regional or perhaps national media.”

Under a 2018 ballot proposal that voters approved with 67% support, people can register to vote in Michigan up to and including on Election Day. Proof of residency for voting can include a driver's license, state identification card, a utility bill or university records, according to the Secretary of State's website.

"It’s incredible that someone has to prove their citizenship to get on a plane or get a job in this country, but you can still vote just based on your word and sign a waiver,” said Sarah Hubbard, a Republican and past chair of the UM Board of Regents. “Now the vote is going to count and can’t be rescinded. That is a mismatch.”

With nine days of early, in-person voting occurring through Sunday, Hubbard said there’s a lot of pressure on campus for students to vote right now."I hope it was an innocent mistake,” she said.

The statement from the Secretary of State's website and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's office described voting by non-U.S. citizens as "an extremely isolated and rare event."

"Let this much be clear: Voting records are public," the statement added. "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, the state's top law enforcement official and a Democrat, said her office had launched an independent, parallel investigation into the voter fraud allegation in Ann Arbor.

"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," Nessel said. "We take all allegations of voter fraud extremely seriously, and the public should expect nothing less."

In 2012, during a legal fight over Michigan's voter application requiring individuals to attest their U.S. citizenship under penalty of perjury, Republican then-Secretary of State Ruth Johnson's office said there was evidence of two instances in which Canadians had voted in Michigan elections using state-issued driver's licenses to register.

The presidential race in Michigan between Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to be close. Some experts have predicted it could come down to tens of thousands of votes.

In 2016, Trump won the state over Democrat Hillary Clinton 47.5%-47.3% or by 10,704 votes.

In 2020, Trump lost Michigan to Democrat Joe Biden by 154,188 votes or about 3 percentage points, 48%-51%. After that election, the Republican maintained false or unproven claims that widespread voter fraud influenced the outcome in Michigan. However, bipartisan canvassing boards, a series of court rulings and an investigation by the GOP-controlled state Senate Oversight Committee all upheld the result.

But the accusations about the 2020 election have helped to prompt heightened scrutiny over the 2024 vote.

In recent weeks, Elon Musk, a prominent Trump supporter who has been described as the world's richest man, has been posting on social media about Michigan's voter rolls. And during a rally in Oakland County on Saturday, Trump called Michigan's early voting system "ridiculous" and voiced support for people having to "prove" they were U.S. citizens before casting ballots.

"There's bad stuff going on," Trump contended.

Michigan voters approved a ballot proposal in 2022 to provide a right in the state Constitution for at least nine days of early, in-person voting. That amendment passed with 60% support.

The Michigan Secretary of State's website says in every state, "only U.S. citizens are eligible to register to vote or cast a ballot in any state or federal election."

"There is no evidence to support claims that large numbers of noncitizens have voted in past elections or are registering to vote in 2024," the Secretary of State's website says.

In a statement Wednesday, U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, a Republican from Caledonia and chair of a special House committee scrutinizing China's power, accused Benson of failing to "prevent this illegal vote from being cast."

"The University of Michigan should expel this student for violating our laws and our state’s leaders need to take serious action against the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to influence our state," Moolenaar said in a statement. "Secretary Benson must tell us how she will prevent similar election fraud in the next week, and how she will secure our elections against CCP interference."

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Staff Writer Melissa Nann Burke contributed.