A 19-year-old Chinese University of Michigan student was arrested Wednesday after voting in the 2024 U.S. presidential election and later charged with acting as an “unauthorized voter attempting to vote” and “perjury” for falsely claiming citizenship to secure voter registration. .

The Michigan Department of State said the student voted Sunday at an early voting site in Ann Arbor. After the vote, he contacted the local clerk’s office to find out how to retrieve his ballot, which was impossible once the counting process began.

“Only U.S. citizens can register and vote in our elections,” the state office said, according to an SCMP report indicating that instances of non-citizen voting are extremely rare.

“It is illegal to lie on a registration form or voting application about your citizenship status. This constitutes a crime,” they added.

A CNN report said the man registered to vote at the polling place on Sunday, using his college ID and other documents to establish residency in Ann Arbor while filling out registration forms voters the same day, according to sources.

U.S. Congressman John Moolenaar, Republican of Michigan and chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, highlighted the problem, aligning it with recent Republican allegations of widespread voter fraud by illegal immigrants.

Under Michigan law, attempting to vote as an unauthorized voter can result in 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 quick actions of the clerk who discovered the case and referred it to law enforcement. “Anyone who attempts to vote illegally may face significant consequences,” they said, “including, but not limited to, arrest and prosecution.”

This incident takes place against the backdrop of claims 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’s victory Biden, Trump’s claims have fueled continued scrutiny of election integrity. , especially as the 2024 elections approach.

Recently, billionaire Elon Musk, a staunch Trump supporter, made social media posts regarding Michigan’s voter rolls, while Trump criticized the state’s early voting system at rallies, reiterating the need for proof of citizenship to vote and advocating for a return to this system. -daily voting with paper ballots. “You know what this ridiculous system is,” Trump remarked to his supporters. “You have the rest of your life to vote whenever you want. Come on.”

Legal expert Gabriel Chin of the University of California Davis School of Law commented on the media attention surrounding this case, pointing out that crimes committed by non-citizens often receive disproportionate coverage and are frequently used to political purposes. “Immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans,” he said. “I would wager that this is true for election crimes as well as other crimes.”

Meanwhile, CNN further reported that Michigan investigators are still investigating whether the incident was an isolated case or an attempt at Chinese interference in the 2024 election.

Additionally, the report states that it appears the student’s vote cannot be voided and will be counted. Washtenaw County Clerk Lawrence Kestenbaum advised that once ballots go through the tabulator, they cannot be retrieved. Unlike absentee ballots, those cast in person contain no identifying information about the individual voter, making it impossible to identify which ballot belongs to the student.

With the contribution of agencies.

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