A ballot purportedly cast by a non-U.S. Chinese citizen in Ann Arbor probably counts

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (FOX 2) – State election officials say a An Ann Arbor resident who is not a U.S. citizen cast an early voting ballot last weekend.

Sources identified the suspect as a Michigan student from China, eligible to study in the United States but not to vote because he is not a citizen.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Attorney Eli Savit confirmed that the non-citizen voter was charged with unauthorized attempt by a voter to vote and perjury – filing a false affidavit to secure voter registration.

The student’s name has not been released. Officials say he voted Sunday at an early voting site in Ann Arbor.

Sources say the student used, among other things, his university ID to register to vote and identified himself as a U.S. citizen by signing the document.

The ballot was entered into the machine for tabulation.

“The way they process ballots after they are withdrawn for early voting. I’m sure they’ll be able to filter it out,” one student said.

FOX 2 learns the student contacted the clerk’s office to retrieve his ballot, possibly alerting election officials in the process.

Moreover, officials say the votes will most likely be counted because once they are processed in the tabulator, they cannot be reversed.

“The fact that they can still count is really disturbing,” the student said.

“I think this is another example of why the RNC has spent so much time and resources communicating with Secretary Benson that they need to clean up the voter rolls,” said Bill McGinley, an election integrity lawyer for the Trump campaign.

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign has a lot to say.

“I believe that Secretary Benson should request access to federal databases that actually contain information about whether or not an individual is a DHS citizen, both at DHS and elsewhere.”

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is also responding.

“I can’t comment on the specifics of this article until I know a little more, but when you look at this campaign, voter protection, election integrity or the top priority, the priority is making sure every eligible American can vote,” said Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for the campaign Harris.

Secretary Benson issued a joint statement with the Washtenaw County Attorney:

“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 noncitizens registered to vote. It is even rarer for a non-citizen to actually cast a vote.

“When this happens, we take it extremely seriously. Our elections are secure and Michigan and local election officials carefully follow the law.”

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office said it is aware of allegations of voting fraud and is launching its own investigation.