Secretary of State asks AG to investigate 10 non citizens who've voted

Election Lansing 005.jpg

"I Voted" stickers in Lansing during the 2013 election

(Fritz Klug / MLive)

Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson has asked the Attorney General's office to investigate 10 people who are not American citizens but have voted in past Michigan elections.

In the letter sent to Attorney General Bill Schuette, Johnson called for an "investigation, and if appropriate, prosecution."

The 10 people, whose names have not been released due to the pending investigation, are from Kent, Macomb, Oakland, Roscommon and Wayne counties. They had voted in presidential and gubernatorial elections in the past decade, according to a release from the Secretary of State's office.

"The law is clear â you must be a U.S. citizen to register to vote and to vote on Election Day," Johnson said in a statement. "We have races that are decided on a handful of votes and ballots cast by ineligible voters cancel out those by legitimate voters."

Joy Yearout, spokeswoman for the AG's office, said they have received the letter from Johnson and the referrals are under review.

The 10 people in question were some of the 600 people who were verified as not being U.S. citizens by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. They were sent a letter in October asking them to contact the Bureau of Elections and request to be removed from the rolls.

Fritz Klug is a news buzz reporter for MLive. Contact him at fklug@mlive.com or 269-370-0584. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or App.net.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.