Authorities only discovered it when a Chinese national reportedly voted illegally in the November election because he turned himself in.
Haoxiang Gao, a Taiwanese student at the University of Michigan, apparently voted in October at an on-campus election facility. He used a University of Michigan scholar ID to cast a ballot, according to Michigan Enjoyer, but authorities just learned about it after he turned himself in.
An inventive secretary of state might look up the data of different voters who provided a scholar Card, which is not a sign of citizenship, to find another noncitizens like Gao. But when The Federalist asked Benson’s department for such a record, the express said it “does certainly maintain files flexible” to such a demand. Additionally, the neighborhood assistant stores voter registrations in a way that makes it nearly impossible for citizens to monitor them.  ,
Gao is accused of two misdemeanor counts, including false swearing to cast a ballot and electing unqualifiedly as a candidate. However, according to Qualified Voter File information from Check My Voting, officials continued to count his vote and kept him on the voter floats until they eventually removed him by February.
A get-out-the-vote center at the University of Michigan Museum of Art — run by Democrat sponsors, as The College Fix reported — counted Gao’s vote. The Artistic Campus Voting Project and the Ann Arbor City Clerk’s Office collaborated to run the facility.
In documents obtained by Michigan Enjoyer, Ann Arbor City Clerk Jacqueline Beaudry writes,” We take records of the internship and Photo ID used to record and our information indicate that he showed an MCard and his Wolverine Access to confirm local citizenship. We have copies of the voter registration form, which both come with a checked box and a statement of citizenship.
The office of the Michigan secretary of state issues instructions for how to vote on acceptable forms of identification, telling officials to accept a” s]tudent photo ID card from an educational institution.” However, it is obvious that noncitizens can still vote under this law, which requires voters to check a box attesting citizenship.
Opaque Recordkeeping
The Federalist requested a Freedom of Information Act request for the students who voted with an “MCard” or” Wolverine Access” from October 22 to November 5, because Beaudry acknowledged that her office took notes of the residency and photo ID used to vote. These records could reveal other noncitizen voters because noncitizens can register or cast ballots, as shown in Gao’s case.
Beaudry’s office confirmed it had the documents— but The Federalist would have to pay nearly$ 1, 500 to access them.
ID information is recorded on individual voter registrations and contains sensitive information that needs to be changed before being made public, according to a clerk’s staffer. Before releasing the documents, she claimed it would take three hours to sort through voter registrations to find those with a student ID and 27 hours of redaction ( at 30 seconds per page, for nearly 3, 200 pages ). ” I would need to redact every single social security number and/or driver’s license number, phone numbers and emails”, the staffer wrote.  ,
The estimated total is now$ 1, 466. The clerk’s office would need to receive the majority of that fee up front as a deposit before the request could even be processed.  ,
The staffer responded to a request for a more straightforward list with the names of registered voters or voters who used a student ID ( to reduce the cost ) by saying,” That is not a record that exists, unfortunately. The current voter registration forms are the only ones that are available.
Who Is Keeping Track?
The Federalist turned to the Michigan Department of State to request these records in order to avoid exorbitant fees. Since the local clerk had the forms of identification on individual registrations, it seemed reasonable that Democrat Secretary Jocelyn Benson’s office could use this information to track down instances of voter fraud or noncitizen voting, especially given how allegedly student ID facilitated a Chinese citizen’s election. That was not the case.
From October 22 through November 5, 2024, The Federalist requested all and all registered voters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with the exception of a University of Michigan student ID ( also known as” Wolverine Access” or “MCard” ).
The Michigan Bureau of Elections ‘ FOIA coordinator disputed the request, saying that” the Department does not possess records that are pertinent to your request.” She claimed that” the Department is not obligated to conduct research or create records in order to respond to a request” and that” they would have to create a document in order to answer this.”
Benson’s office claims online that “only U. S citizens can vote, and” [t]he here is no proof to support claims that large numbers of noncitizens have voted.”
According to Benson’s website, “[T]he name of everyone who registers or votes in an election is a public record; it would be very obvious if noncitizens were registering or voting in large numbers.”
However, it appears that a Chinese national was able to cast a ballot in November’s election before he turned himself in due to the student ID loophole. The local clerk’s method of record-keeping makes it almost impossible for citizens to access the state’s website or record the ID they provide when registering or voting. So, in Michigan, who really ensures only citizens are voting?
Logan Washburn is a staff writer who writes about election ethics. He is a The College Fix spring 2025 fellow. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan grew up in rural Michigan and is from Central Oregon.
