The College Fix

Michigan officials confirm non-citizen’s ballot can’t be retrieved due to voter anonymity laws

A Chinese student at the University of Michigan, who is not a U.S. citizen, has been charged with perjury after he cast an illegal vote in the presidential election, state officials announced Wednesday.

However, his vote will still count, as there is no way to retrieve his ballot.

The student registered to vote last week with his school ID and “other documentation establishing residency in Ann Arbor.” He “signed a document identifying himself as a U.S. citizen and his ballot was entered into a tabulator,” The Detroit News reported.

The UM student later requested his ballot back from the local clerk’s office but was unable to retrieve it.

Once the ballot has been processed by a tabulator, election officials have no way to identify it due to Michigan election laws designed to protect voter anonymity, according to the Detroit News.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit stated in a news release that the student is being charged with perjury and voting as an “unauthorized elector.”

However, the officials assured state residents that “elections are secure.”

“Noncitizen voting is an extremely isolated and rare event,” and there is “no evidence of large numbers of noncitizens registering to vote,” Benson and Savit stated.

“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,” they stated.

“Let this be clear: Voting records are public – 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,” they stated.

Ann Arbor City Administrator Milton Dohoney stated that “the student was fully aware of what he was doing, and that it was not legal,” the Detroit News reported.

In response to this incident, Republicans are raising concerns about election integrity.

“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,” former chair of the UM Board of Regents Sarah Hubbard said.

“Now the vote is going to count and can’t be rescinded. That is a mismatch,” she said.

Michigan Rep. John Moolenaar stated the university “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.”

“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,” he wrote in a statement.

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