Chinese national in Michigan casts irretrievable ballot in US election, now faces charges

A Chinese national studying at the University of Michigan is facing serious charges after officials say he voted this past weekend in the battleground state.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit announced the charges against the student on Wednesday. They did not name the student.

Reporting from the Detroit News, identified the student as a 19-year-old from China who is legally in the U.S. but isn't a citizen, and therefore ineligible to cast a ballot,

The voter registered to vote on Sunday using his identification from the University of Michigan signed a document identifying himself as a U.S. citizen and his ballot was entered into a tabulator, the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office told the Detroit News.

"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," according to a joint statement from Benson and Savit.

The ballot is expected to still count

The vote was cast at an early-voting site at the University of Michigan and is expected to still count even though it was illegally cast. That is because there is no way for election officials to retrieve it once it's been put through a tabulator, which is done so ballots cannot be traced to an individual voter.

Neither Benson's nor Savit's office immediately responded to USA TODAY's question about whom the non-citizen voted for.

"Anyone who attempts to vote illegally faces significant consequences, including but not limited to arrest and prosecution,” Benson and Savit said.

Chinese national faces multiple charges

The unidentified Chinese national faces two charges: being an unauthorized elector attempting to vote and perjury.

They face up to 19 years in prison if convicted of both charges

“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,” Benson and Savit said.

Voter fraud is extremely rare

While voter fraud grabs headlines when it does occur, it is rare, according to election experts. Of 42 voting jurisdictions in the 2016 election, officials only referred 30 suspected cases of noncitizens voting out of 23.5 million votes cast, according to research from the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice.

The center concluded that noncitizen votes accounted for just 0.0001% of those jurisdiction’s votes in that presidential election.

This story was updated to fix an inaccuracy.

Contributing: Melissa Cruz

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chinese national in Michigan casts irretrievable vote for president