Chinese college student who voted in Michigan's election arraigned

DETROIT — Haoxiang Gao, a 19-year-old University of Michigan student from China, was arraigned Friday in Washtenaw County District Court on charges that he voted illegally in the presidential election.

The Michigan Secretary of State's Office and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office revealed on Oct. 30 that a student who wasn't a U.S. citizen had cast a ballot at an early voting site in Ann Arbor. The announcement came six days before Election Day and drew the attention of national political figures, as there was no way for local election officials to prevent Gao's ballot from being counted after it was entered into a tabulator.

Michigan authorities didn't identify Gao as the individual who allegedly cast the ballot until Friday when he was arraigned in the 15th District Court in Ann Arbor.

Gao is facing felony charges of perjury — making a false statement on an affidavit for the purpose of securing voter registration — and of being an unauthorized elector who attempted to vote. The standard penalty for perjury in Michigan, the most serious of the two allegations, is up to 15 years in prison.

According to court records, Gao "stood mute" in court Friday, meaning he didn't specifically plead guilty or not guilty. His attorney, K. Orlando Simon, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Magistrate Elisha Fink set his bond at $5,000, according to court records.

Under federal law, only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections.

But Gao cast his ballot on Oct. 27 at an early voting site at the University of Michigan Museum of Art on State Street, according to Milton Dohoney Jr., the Ann Arbor city administrator. Later, the UM student voter contacted the local clerk's office, asking if he could somehow get his ballot back, according to the Secretary of State's office.

In a previous message to the Ann Arbor City Council members, obtained by The Detroit News, Dohoney said there had been an instance of “potential voter fraud in Ann Arbor” involving a UM student who’s a green card holder.

“Through a series of actions, the student was apparently able to register, receive a ballot and cast a vote,” Dohoney wrote in an email Monday. “Based upon the scenario that we’re hearing this morning, the student was fully aware of what he was doing, and that it was not legal.”

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