The Chinese national who illegally cast a ballot in Ann Arbor last weekend has sparked widespread criticism of Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s handling of Michigan’s election system.

It’s criticism that Benson hasn’t welcomed. The former Wayne State Law School dean and Southern Poverty Law Center operative shut down comments from her X feed when the majority of remarks took the SOS to task for a system that allowed an immigrant to register and vote, but also to allow his vote to actually count.

“Who can reply? Accounts @JocelynBenson follows or mentioned can reply,” the message said.

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https://twitter.com/JocelynBenson/status/1851982857704546800

But it wasn’t the procedures put in place by Benson that resulted in the discovery of the illegally cast ballot. Instead, the University of Michigan student attempted to retrieve his ballot after he was told he wasn’t eligible to vote.

The nonresident registered and voted in Ann Arbor on Saturday, the first day of early voting.

The outcry was furious, particularly among Republican legislators.

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Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt tweeted: “Last month, @JocelynBenson  sat before Congress and denied that non-citizens were voting in our elections. That was wrong then and it’s wrong now. What’s it going to take to get our top election officer to do her job and make sure only citizens vote?”

https://twitter.com/SenAricNesbitt/status/1851743010259603788

An even more scathing indictment of Benson came from Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly. Johnson, a former secretary of state who defeated Benson for the position in 2010, has consistently pointed out Benson’s partisanship in performing her duties and responsibilities.

In an interview with The Midwesterner, Johnson noted that Benson has effectively removed the “checks and balances” of Michigan’s electoral system.

Same-day registration and voting, she said, eliminates the opportunity to check an individual’s eligibility to vote, Johnson said.

Because doesn’t require voters to show proof if ID, Johnson said, “The only thing we have is hopefully they’re telling the truth, which is not good checks and balances. It’s the honor system, but it can’t prevent someone who has voted elsewhere to register and vote again in Michigan.”

Johnson noted that Benson has violated the Michigan law regarding verification of signatures on absentee ballots.

“We’ve never had such a partisan Secretary of State ever in the history of Michigan,” Johnson said. “They’ve done the worst thing they can do which is to strip out the transparency checks and balances of elections in Michigan, one of the five most critical states for making a decision on how the Senate, the House and the president is elected.”

She continued: “I’m equally concerned about local elections. Sometimes local elections can have more impact on you than the national elections, but once you strip away all these layers that were protecting the integrity of our elections you’ve done a great disservice to the people of our state.”

On Wednesday, Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit released a joint statement responding to the voting of noncitizens in the state of Michigan’s 2024 election. Savit is bringing criminal charges against him, according to a press release from Benson’s office.

“Following an alleged violation of the law involving a non-U.S. citizen voting at an Ann Arbor early voting site on Sunday, October 27, the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office has authorized criminal charges,” the joint statement says.

The criminal charges will include an unauthorized attempt to vote, as well as perjury.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel noted her office is also conducting “an independent, parallel investigation into this matter.”

In a news release, Nessel stated: “My office is aware of the Ann Arbor voter fraud allegation and subsequent charges. It is the responsibility of each and every resident of this state and nation to adhere to the law, and Michigan election law makes clear that non-citizens cannot vote in our elections. We take all allegations of voter fraud extremely seriously, and the public should expect nothing less.”

However, if the UM student had not asked to retrieve his illegal ballot, the chances of it being discovered at all are slim. And the fact remains, his vote will still be counted. No one knows hos many similar ballots might have been illegally cast.