Michigan prosecutors charged a Chinese citizen with voter fraud and perjury after he allegedly cast a ballot in the 2024 election, authorities announced Wednesday.
Sources familiar with the matter told CNN that the 19-year-old Chinese man who allegedly voted is a student who lives in Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan. Authorities said the man isn’t a US citizen, and therefore can’t vote in federal elections.
The announcement from Michigan’s secretary of state and attorney general, and local prosecutors in Ann Arbor, comes as former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies spread concerns about mass voting by non-citizens. Experts say illegal voting by non-citizens is extremely rare, and when it does happen, it is usually caught quickly.
The Chinese man – a student at the University of Michigan – cast his ballot on Sunday and then reached out to local election officials later that day in an attempt to get the ballot back, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The man registered to vote at the polling place on Sunday, the source said. He used his university ID and other documents to demonstrate his residency in Ann Arbor while filling out a same-day voter registration forms, the source said. The Detroit News first reported the details.
The suspect is legally present in the US, the source added. If he is convicted, he could potentially be deported over the incident, legal experts said.
“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,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, both Democrats, said in a statement.
They also said that “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.”
Investigators in Michigan are still looking at whether this was an isolated incident, an accident or possibly part of an attempt by China to interfere in the 2024 election, and federal investigators are also looking into the matter, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is also a Democrat, said in a statement that her office has launched an “independent, parallel investigation” into the situation.
