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Michigan student, non-U.S. citizen, charged with voting in general election

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Michigan student, non-U.S. citizen, charged with voting in general election

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Attorney Eli Savit have released a joint statement saying a non-U.S. citizen has been arrested for voting in the general election Will be charged in 2024.

According to the State Department, a 19-year-old University of Michigan student from China visited the early voting site on campus, one of six locations in Ann Arbor, on Sunday. The student then registered to vote using his university ID, provided documents proving he lived in Ann Arbor, and signed a document identifying him as a U.S. citizen.

Since the ballot has been filled out and placed in the tabulator, there is no way to take it back. Benson's office confirmed that the illegal ballot will count in this election.

“I think it’s terrible,” Michigan junior Max Friedman said. “It kind of pissed me off personally.”

Friedman says he wasn't surprised that a non-citizen student tried to knowingly or unknowingly register to vote illegally, but he was surprised that he was able to do so.

“I'm not surprised that it happened, but I'm surprised that it actually counted and they actually got credit for their vote,” Friedman said. “Everyone here shoves it in your face – oh, do you choose? Do you agree? Vote early. Everyone has to vote – and they don't even ask if you're American. We have a lot of international students.”

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UM freshman Benjamin Zeng spent a decade in China but was born in the United States

“I was very surprised. “I didn’t think this would be possible,” Zeng said. “When I voted, it took a lot of evidence.”

Zeng also has friends at the university who are from China but are not U.S. citizens like Sing Chenli. Chenli says it's “common sense” to know that you can't vote without U.S. citizenship. He's also not surprised that the punishment for doing so could include prison time, fines and possibly deportation.

“I kind of expect that because I know that voting is a citizen's right and it's a big deal,” Chenli said. “So no foreigner wants to mess with that.”

The problem 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 filed a police report.

“This is the only time it has been documented. “How often does this happen that we don’t really know about,” Friedman asked. “I know this is one of the most polarizing elections in recent history… People are skeptical about what happened last time. “The fact that it's proving that things have already happened, I think is a little ridiculous.”

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Benson and Savit say such cases are extremely rare. They released a statement providing further details on the case:

Following an alleged violation of law involving a non-U.S. citizen voting at an early voting site in Ann Arbor on Sunday, October 27, the Washtenaw County District Attorney's Office has filed criminal charges of (1) attempted unauthorized voter in violation of MCL approved 168.932a(c) and (2) Perjury – making a false affidavit for the purpose of securing voter registration, in violation of MCL 168.933.

All allegations are allegations only and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Only U.S. citizens can register and vote in our elections. It is illegal to lie about a person's citizenship status on registration forms or voting applications. This is a criminal offense.

We would like to thank the caseworker in this case for their quick action, who took the appropriate steps and referred the case to law enforcement. We also thank law enforcement for their quick and thorough investigation of this case. Anyone attempting to vote illegally will face significant consequences, including arrest and criminal prosecution.

Non-citizen voting is an extremely isolated and rare event. Research in several states and across the country has found no evidence that large numbers of non-citizens have registered to vote. It is even rarer for a non-citizen to actually cast a vote. When it happens, we take it extremely seriously. Our elections are secure and Michigan's state and local election officials diligently follow the law.

Our duty to the law is paramount, as is our responsibility to ensure that every eligible voter can register and cast their vote.

Let's be clear: Voting results are public – any non-citizen who attempts to vote fraudulently in Michigan puts themselves at great risk and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No further details were released.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released the following statement on the case:

My office is aware of the election fraud allegations in Ann Arbor and the subsequent indictments. It is the responsibility of every resident of this state and nation to obey the laws, and Michigan election law makes it clear that non-citizens may not vote in our elections. We take all allegations of voter fraud extremely seriously and the public should expect nothing less.

As with previous voting rights cases, the Attorney General's Office has launched an independent, parallel investigation into the matter.

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