Authorities have charged a 19-year-old Chinese student in Ann Arbor with voting illegally.

The unidentified University of Michigan student allegedly registered and voted on Sunday. While the student has a green card, he is not legally allowed to vote in U.S. elections.

The student faces two felony charges authorized by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office:

1. Unauthorized Elector Attempting To Vote
2. Perjury – Making a False Affidavit for Purpose of Securing Voter Registration

The Michigan Attorney General’s office has commenced its own parallel investigation.

The Michigan Republican party blamed Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, for the alleged crime.

“This individual’s ability to vote is a direct result of Secretary Benson’s disregard for the integrity of our electoral system and her continued efforts to weaken Michigan’s election laws. It’s an insult to Michiganders. Nobody should be able to lie and cast a vote,” Michigan GOP spokesperson Victoria LaCivita said in an email to Michigan Public.

Benson, in a joint statement with Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney Eli Savit, also a Democrat, said Michigan’s elections are secure, saying noncitizen voting is “extremely isolated and rare,” and records of who voted in each election are public, so anyone attempting to vote fraudulently is “exposing themselves to great risk.”

“Our duty to the law is paramount, as is our responsibility to ensure that every eligible voter is able to register and cast a ballot,” Benson and Savit said.

Michigan voters are casting ballots for the next President of the United States.

Perhaps no issue is more divisive among Michigan voters as abortion.

Michiganders are talking about what kind of presidential leadership they would like to see when it comes to abortion and reproductive health care.

Abortion is, of course, a very personal issue.

Stephanie Jones didn’t want to undergo an abortion. But a medical emergency made it necessary. She believes if Michigan had the same anti-abortion laws on the books that some other states have, she would not have survived.

Jones wants to see presidential leadership tempered with “empathy” when it comes to abortion.

“First, they have to be empathic and understand what it is like to go through that because how can you lead and govern if you aren’t understanding of the people’s struggle. That’s the proof of a good leader,” said Jones. “You don’t have to have the struggle yourself, but you have to at least be willing to listen and understand the nuances.”

But for those against abortion rights, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has left the issue up to the states, they want presidential leadership to focus elsewhere.

Trevor Polo is with Protect Life Michigan. He wants to see presidential leadership to address issues, like economic and family life, that often lead to women seeking abortions.

“I’d like to see whoever the president might be talking about solving those real issues,” said Polo. “ But not sacrificing rights of unborn children in the process.”

For Michigan doctors, the debate over abortion and reproductive health care shows different needs that could be influenced by the next president.

Dr. Katherine Stark has been a practicing OB-GYN for more than three decades in southeast Michigan. These days she’s the medical director at several reproductive health centers that try to provide an option to pregnant women who might otherwise consider abortion.

Stark said she would like the next president to prioritize life, including increasing funding for reproductive health care.

“Whether you’re poor or you’re wealthy or anywhere in between, you should be able to access excellent care for yourself and your family without worrying about doctors and clinics can’t take my insurance because Medicaid pays so poorly,” said Stark.

Many Michiganders are also concerned that the debate over abortion is spilling over into other aspects of reproductive health care; in particular they are concerned about the future of in vitro-fertilization or IVF.

Dr. Molly Moravek is a fertility specialist. For the past decade, she has helped many Michigan couples and individuals struggling to have children.

She’s not sure she wants to see presidential actions when it comes to abortion and reproductive health care.

“What I’d really like to see is someone who moves toward giving that autonomy back to physicians and their patients, and what happens in the clinic between us,” said Moravek. “Because every patient situation is different, and so it’s really hard to say this policy is right or wrong, ’cause it’s not right or wrong for everybody.”

Former President Donald Trump says he wants to leave abortion decisions to the states, while Vice President Kamala Harris favors congressional action to protect access to abortion and other reproductive health care options.

You can learn more here about how all the presidential candidates on the Michigan ballot stand on this and other issues.

Michigan voters are deciding who they want to be the next president of the United States.

Polls indicate immigration is a top issue among Michigan voters.

Michigan Public has been talking to voters about what kind of presidential leadership they would like to see when it comes to immigration.

Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott’s southwest Michigan county is a long way from Mexico. But he says immigrants who cross the southern border are sometimes ending up in his county jail.

Abbott said at any time there are four to nine people in his jail, accused of serious crimes, with federal immigration holds.

“The fact of the matter is on a regular basis, especially over the last couple years, we’ve seen over and over and over, not only on the roadside but in the jail, that inmates coming in and out of the jail are getting flagged on a regular basis by ICE once they’re put into the system,” said Abbott.

Abbott said he wants to see the next president do something to slow the immigrant flow across the nation’s border with Mexico, which he blames for increased crime in his rural county.

But advocates object to labeling immigrants as a criminal element.

Susan Reed is with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center in Kalamazoo.

She said the main problem with immigration is the confusing, often long process for immigrants to obtain legal status.

“I have a client who lost his work permit and has been waiting 15 months for the replacement. He can’t work without it,” said Reed. “He’s very skilled, has a great background working in a variety of settings and just can’t work ’cause he lost a document.”

Reed wants the next president to streamline the immigration and work permit system rather than imposing new obstacles.

Detroit has long been a destination for immigrants. And over time, where those immigrants have come from has changed.

“When my family moved in here, it was predominately Mexican and Puerto Rican. In the early 2000s, we started having more Central American immigrants come in,” said Adonis Flores. He helps undocumented immigrants seeking to stay in the U.S.

Flores said he’d like to see the next president change the part of immigration law which allows individuals to apply for permanent residency, but only if they’ve been in the U.S. since 1972.

Flores would like to see the date of registry updated to 2015.

“If somebody, for example, arrived in this country in the early 2000s or in the late 90s, and haven’t been able to fix their status because of that date of registry,” said Flores. “If that date gets updated, all of a sudden they have American kids and an American spouse that might be able to help their immigration status.”

Mara Cecelia Ostfeld is a U of M researcher. She said a recent University of Michigan study found the perception of whether immigrants are good or bad depends on an individual’s personal experience.

“Overall, a plurality of the residents in the communities we looked at: Flint, Grand Rapids, Ypsilanti and Detroit, did favor making it easier for foreigners to immigrate to the U.S. legally,” said Ostfeld.

However, some Michiganders are not as welcoming to their new neighbors.

“Young Black men are saying right now that they feel that people who are illegally coming into this country are getting treated better than they are,” Pastor Lorenzo Sewell told a group of Republicans gathered in Roseville back in August.

Sewell said his parishioners in Detroit, Pontiac and other Michigan cities want the immigration system changed.

“We need a president who’s willing to make a hard decision, send people back and then if they want to come in this country,” Sewell said. “They need to come the way, whatever way we feel as a country, they need to go through the process.”

Former President Donald Trump says the federal government should stop the flow of migrants across the southern border, and conduct a mass deportation effort of undocumented immigrants. Vice President Kamala Harris says she wants to fix the immigration system and create an earned pathway to citizenship.

You can learn more here about how all the presidential candidates on the Michigan ballot stand on this and other issues.

Michigan’s marijuana industry has grown significantly since adult recreational use was legalized by voters in 2018. But the direction it goes in the future may depend on what happens next at the federal level. Michiganders are talking about what kind of presidential leadership they would like to see when it comes to federal marijuana regulation.

One way of assessing how much marijuana has become mainstream in Michigan is the fact that a dispensary grand opening in Saginaw back in August included not only the local Chamber of Commerce, but also U.S. Senator Gary Peters.

These are pretty high times for Michigan’s cannabis business. Sales topped three billion dollars in 2023.

But there are headwinds.

In September, more than 1,500 people attended a marijuana industry showcase at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids.

Brett Thompson is a cultivator and processer in southwest Michigan. He was at the conference looking to expand his cannabis business to other parts of the state.

He’d like to see the next president lead on loosening federal banking regulations and de-schedule marijuana as an illegal drug on the federal level. Though Thompson is concerned about what that may mean.

“It’s one of those things, “be careful what you ask for,” said Thompson. “We’re trying to pay our taxes, and more than willing to pay our taxes; just give us a break.”

Michigan law enforcement also wants to see presidential leadership on marijuana.

Robert Stevenson is the executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police. He said marijuana, medical and recreational, has been a challenge for Michigan law enforcement.

Stevenson said marijuana being illegal federally and legal on the state level has put police officers in something of a legal limbo.

“What we need is some clear direction out of Washington. If it’s going to be legalized, let’s legalize it. If it’s going to stay illegal, then let’s enforce it,” said Stevenson. “But having laws on the books that aren’t enforced or that are ignored, generally is not good for public safety. Doesn’t matter whether it’s marijuana law, or any type of law, if you have a law it should be enforced.”

Banking and scheduling are not the marijuana industry’s only challenges at the federal level.

Dave Morrow is the CEO of Lume, Michigan’s largest cannabis company. He wants to see presidential leadership on dealing with a loophole that allows hemp producers to sell THC products in states where marijuana products are illegal.

“People of like our general age don’t really understand the Delta-8 Delta-9 business, simply because we’re adults and can afford to go into a store to buy regulated product. When you go to Florida, people walking into these vape shops buying this stuff aren’t people like you, they’re 16-year-old kids,” he said.

Gordon MacDougall is also concerned about teenagers getting access to THC products. The Ludington man’s 16-year-old son Henry died in a car crash, after consuming an intoxicating level of marijuana.

MacDougall wants the next president to reassert federal controls on marijuana over state regulation.

“It’s like you have 50 children running around and some making poor decisions,” said MacDougall. “I believe the federal government should play parent in this and be the responsible adult.”

Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump favor rescheduling marijuana to reduce federal penalties.

Click on this link to learn more about how all the presidential candidates on the Michigan ballot stand on this and other issues.

Michigan Republicans and Democrats exchanged barbs Monday over Chinese investment in the U.S. — and in Michigan in particular.

Michigan Republicans accused prominent state Democrats of providing a “safe zone” for companies fronting for the Chinese Communist party.

The criticism is tied to recent projects involving companies planning manufacturing investments in Michigan.

The main criticism involves a planned electric vehicle battery plant near Big Rapids. The company behind the project, Gotion, is a U.S.-based subsidiary of a Chinese company. The articles of association of the parent company say it must “carry out party activities in accordance with the constitution of the Communist party of China,” but a spokesperson for the company has said there’s distance between the Chinese government and the company’s business decisions.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate and former congressman Mike Rogers accused his Democratic opponent, Representative Elissa Slotkin, of playing a role in attracting the project to west Michigan.

“I can tell you as a member of Congress for those seven terms, never once — never once — did I see an elected official sign a non-disclosure agreement for any issue, let alone a company that is tied to the communist party of China,” said Rogers.

A spokesman for Democratic Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin called Rogers’ allegations a “false attack,” insisting Slotkin has never signed any agreement involving a project connected to the Chinese government.

Slotkin has introduced legislation giving the federal government additional authority to investigate Chinese-backed business dealings in the United States.

Democrats counter that Republicans are trying to distract from Rogers’ own history of working with U.S. companies that have partnered with Chinese businesses.

Rogers worked as a security advisor for AT&T and a risk analyst for Nokia (a Finnish company) while those companies had loose ties to the Chinese telecom company Huawei.

Rogers has defended his business dealings since leaving Congress, insisting his record shows he has long fought against Chinese intellectual property theft and other threats to the U.S.

Rogers and Slotkin are running to succeed retiring U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow.

Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat could prove pivotal for deciding which party will control the Senate.