LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – 15 non-citizens in Michigan cast a ballot in the 2024 election, according to the Secretary of State’s office. The state made the discovery after a review of registered vehicles in the state was compared to voting records.
Of the 15 people, 13 were referred to the Michigan Attorney General for possible criminal charges. One of the alleged non-citizens has since died, and the other case is still being investigated by the department’s Office of Investigative Services.
Despite this, according to the state, these cases, along with a Chinese national who allegedly voted illegally, are just 15 of more than 5.7 million votes, representing 0.00028% of the votes cast by Michiganders in the presidential election.
“This is a serious issue, one we must address with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer,” Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said. “Only U.S. citizens can legally register and vote in our elections. Our careful review confirms what we already knew, that this illegal activity is very rare.
Some state lawmakers say enough isn’t being done to address illegal voting in the state. Speaker Pro Tempore Rachelle Smit (R-Shelbyville) criticized the findings in the review from the secretary of state’s office, saying Secretary Benson told a U.S. House Committee “there is no evidence that non-citizens are voting” in September of last year. Smit, who chairs the Michigan House Election Integrity Committee, said in a press release that she found the comments concerning.
“It’s deeply troubling to me that our secretary of state told Congress that non-citizens weren’t voting in our elections just a couple months before November,” representative Smit said. “Now, she admits they are voting in our elections, and at least 15 of them had their ballots tabulated and counted. That’s 15 Michigan taxpaying residents who had their votes illegally cancelled out by people who shouldn’t have been at the polls to begin with.”
For more information on election security or how voter rolls are maintained in Michigan, visit Michigan.gov/ElectionSecurity.
Continue reading: State Republicans introduce legislation that would require proof of citizenship to vote
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