Accountability

"It is disgraceful Haoxiang Gao was able to illegally vote in our state in the first place, and now he will likely never face the consequences of his actions after fleeing the country. Secretary Benson has said for months that she opposes strengthening our nation’s election laws to stop non-citizens from voting. She said the justice system would hold lawbreakers accountable. Now we see that is not the case. This student had his vote counted in our election last November and escaped justice on her watch. Secretary Benson should endorse the SAVE Act and do more to proactively prevent non-citizens from voting."

Today, Congressman John Moolenaar, along with his Republican colleagues in the Michigan Congressional delegation, called on Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to answer questions after her office reported at least an additional 15 noncitizens were found to illegally cast a ballot in the 2024 election.

"Michigan families work hard and their tax dollars should go toward what matters most to them. As their voice on the Appropriations Committee, I will advocate for their most important priorities including protecting the Great Lakes, supporting our rural communities, and championing Michigan farmers,” said Moolenaar.

“President Biden failed our nation at nearly every level. Here at home, he crushed Michigan families with the highest inflation in decades, raised the cost of living and made them pay more for everything they buy. Internationally, the world is more dangerous because of Biden’s failures. Russia invaded Ukraine again, the Taliban took over Afghanistan, and he allowed a terrorist group in the Middle East to control the shipping lanes of the world economy. I look forward to working with President Trump and his administration to get our nation back on track.”

“Governor Whitmer has given hundreds of millions of dollars to Chinese auto suppliers in Michigan. If she is ready to show she is serious about stopping the Chinese Communist Party from taking over our auto industry she will end the state subsidies she approved for Chinese auto suppliers and stop their projects from moving forward. She has subsidized the CCP’s efforts to make our automakers more dependent on China. Her concerns about Chinese auto suppliers hurting our economy are empty until she ends her subsidies for them,” said Congressman John Moolenaar.

The lawmakers wrote to Benson, “Your department failed to prevent this illegal vote from being cast and will reportedly count it in the results next week. House Republicans have raised concerns about noncitizens voting in elections and earlier this year the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8281 – the SAVE Act with a bipartisan 221-198 vote. The SAVE Act would require individuals to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections, and it is shameful our colleagues in the Senate refused to pass this commonsense legislation.”

“Secretary Jocelyn Benson has hurt the public’s trust in Michigan elections as her department failed to prevent this illegal vote from being cast and will count it in the results next week. The University of Michigan should expel this student for violating our laws and our state’s leaders need to take serious action against the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to influence our state. Secretary Benson must tell us how she will prevent similar election fraud in the next week, and how she will secure our elections against CCP interference. Governor Whitmer must cancel the state’s $715 million giveaway of taxpayer money to CCP-affiliated Gotion and end its plans to build near Camp Grayling. Finally, U-M President Santa Ono needs to shut down his university’s institute with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which collaborates with China’s military. Until these actions happen, our state's security, elections, universities, and auto supply chains will remain vulnerable to CCP influence,” said Congressman John Moolenaar.