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A 19-year-old Chinese student at the University of Michigan was arrested Wednesday after voting in the 2024 US presidential election and subsequently charged with acting as an “unauthorised elector attempting to vote” and “perjury” for falsely claiming citizenship to secure voter registration.
The Michigan Department of State stated that the student cast his ballot at an early-voting site in Ann Arbor on Sunday. Following the vote, he contacted the local clerk’s office inquiring about retrieving his ballot, which was impossible once it entered the counting process.
“Only US citizens can register and vote in our elections,” the state office said, as per a report in SCMP stating that instances of non-citizen voting are extremely rare.
“It is illegal to lie on any registration forms or voting applications about one’s citizenship status. Doing so is a felony," they added.
A report in CNN stated that the man registered to vote at the polling location on Sunday, using his university ID and other documents to establish his residency in Ann Arbor while completing same-day voter registration forms, according to sources.
US Congressman John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican and chair of the House select committee on China’s Communist Party, highlighted the issue, aligning it with recent Republican claims of widespread voter fraud by illegal immigrants.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAccording to Michigan law, attempting to vote as an unauthorised elector can lead to up to four years in prison, while perjury carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years. A joint statement from Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit expressed gratitude for the swift actions of the clerk who uncovered the case and referred it to law enforcement. “Anyone who attempts to vote illegally faces significant consequences,” they stated, “including but not limited to arrest and prosecution.”
This incident unfolds against a backdrop of claims made by former President Donald Trump, who alleged widespread voter fraud in Michigan after narrowly losing the state in 2020. Despite numerous investigations and bipartisan reviews affirming Joe Biden’s victory, Trump’s assertions have fuelled ongoing scrutiny of electoral integrity, particularly as the 2024 election approaches.
Recently, billionaire Elon Musk, a vocal Trump supporter, has made social media posts regarding Michigan’s voter rolls, while Trump has criticized the state’s early-voting system at rallies, reiterating the need for proof of citizenship to vote and advocating for a return to same-day voting with paper ballots. “You know what the ridiculous system is,” Trump remarked to supporters. “You have the rest of your life to vote anytime you want. Come on.”
Legal expert Gabriel Chin from the University of California, Davis School of Law commented on the media attention surrounding this case, noting that crimes by non-citizens often receive disproportionate coverage and are frequently used for political gain. “Immigrants commit less crime than native-born Americans,” he stated. “I’d bet that is true for election crimes just as it is for other offenses.”
Meanwhile, CNN has further reported that investigators in Michigan are still looking at whether the incident was an isolated one, or a larger part of an attempt by China to interfere in the 2024 election.
Furthermore, the report stated that it seems that the student’s vote cannot be nullified and will be counted. Washtenaw County Clerk Lawrence Kestenbaum informed that once ballots pass through the tabulator, they cannot be retrieved. Unlike vote-by-mail ballots, those cast in person do not include any identifying information about the individual voter, making it impossible to identify which ballot belonged to the student.
With inputs from agencies.