A Chinese national charged with voting illegally at the University of Michigan has fled the U.S., according to a criminal complaint filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that was unsealed on Friday.
Haoxiang Gao was attending the Ann Arbor-based university in October 2024 and lived on campus, authorities said.
Safety officials with the school spoke with Gao on Oct. 28 after hearing reports that a student had unlawfully cast a vote in the 2024 general election, according to the recently unsealed court documents. CBS Detroit previously reported on the case but authorities didn’t identify Gao at the time.
Gao admitted during the conversation with the school that he registered to vote and did cast a vote at a polling location on campus on Oct. 27. He was charged by the state on Oct. 30 with one count each of unauthorized elector attempting to vote and making a false affidavit for the purpose of securing voter registration, court records show.
During Gao’s arraignment, a judge ordered him to surrender his Chinese passport and not to leave Michigan, according to the criminal complaint. The passport handed in had a serial number ending in “1332.” A warrant for Gao was later issued after he missed court hearings on March 6 and April 24.
The FBI said in the filing that Gao’s passport was in the possession of school safety officials during a court hearing. However, according to prosecutors, Gao boarded a Delta flight from Detroit International Airport to Shanghai, China, on Jan. 19 using a Chinese passport in his name with a serial number ending in “7137.”
CBS News Detroit has reached out to the university for comment.
Gao has been federally charged with flight to avoid prosecution, though the U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with China.
The case is among very few instances of noncitizens voting in federal elections in modern history, studies and investigations have found. Analysis by the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice found 30 cases of noncitizens suspected of voting in the 2024 general election reported by election officials out of 23.5 million votes cast in the 42 jurisdictions reviewed.
The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
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