Foreign student arrested and charged for voting in Ann Arbor

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – A 19-year-old Chinese international student from the University of Michigan was arrested and charged with voting Sunday at an early voting site in Ann Arbor – and his vote will be counted in the upcoming general election.

The Secretary of State’s office confirmed to 6 News that the student falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen by registering to vote and casting his ballot the same day. He later called the Secretary of State’s office and asked if he could have his ballot back.

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However, the Secretary of State’s office also tells 6 News that his ballot was tabulated and will be counted even though it was cast illegally because election officials have no way to track it. The electoral process is designed to prevent the identification of a voter’s individual ballot.

Because it is illegal to register to vote and cast ballots as a non-U.S. citizen, the student was arrested and charged with one felony count attempting to vote as an ineligible voter and one number forgery to register to vote– according to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Attorney Eli Savit.

“Non-citizen voting is an extremely isolated and rare event. Investigations in multiple states and across the country found no evidence that large numbers of foreigners were registering to vote. It’s even rarer for a foreigner to actually vote,” say Benson and Savit. “When this happens, we take it extremely seriously. Our elections are secure and Michigan election officials and local election officials carefully follow the law.”

The Michigan Department of the Attorney General has launched an independent investigation into the matter because it deals with election law.

“My office is aware of the allegations of voter fraud in Ann Arbor and the resulting charges,” says Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. “It is the responsibility of every resident of this state and nation to obey the law, and Michigan election law clearly states that non-citizens cannot vote in our elections. We take all allegations of voter fraud extremely seriously and the public should expect nothing less.”

This is a developing story and 6 News will keep you updated with additional details as they become available. 6 News reached out to the Department of the Attorney General for additional comment but has not received a response.

The Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment further.

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