The Chinese student in Michigan who allegedly voted in November’s election failed to appear in court. Now he faces a warrant for his arrest.
University of Michigan student Haoxiang Gao — who goes by “Neil” — allegedly cast his ballot on Oct. 27 despite being a noncitizen, as The Federalist previously reported. He now faces two felony charges: false swearing to register to vote and trying to vote as an unqualified elector. According to court records, his probable cause conference was set for April 24 — but Gao never showed.
“BENCH WARRANT ISSUED — FAILED TO APPEAR,” read records from the day of the hearing. A bench warrant directs police to arrest a defendant for skipping out on court.
“I can confirm that Mr. Gao failed to appear for his last court date and that a bench warrant has been issued for his arrest,” Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit told The Federalist. “Once he is in custody, the case will proceed in the normal course. And we will continue to prosecute it to the fullest extent of the law.”
Savit said efforts to locate suspects are “generally led by law-enforcement” and his office “wouldn’t be able to comment on such matters in any event as it would involve an investigation into a person’s whereabouts.”
Voting in American Elections
Gao allegedly registered and voted from a “get out the vote” station in the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) ahead of November’s election, as The Federalist previously reported. And, as The College Fix previously reported, the center was run by Democrat donors as a “one-stop-shop” for boosting voter turnout.
Documents obtained by public records request suggest volunteers at the center pushed Gao to vote. Gao’s roommate, a Chinese freshman named Nan Xiang, saw him fill out the voter registration, according to a police report by UM Police Sgt. Ryan Cavanaugh.
“Nan was surprised that the person did not even ask if he was a United States citizen prior to giving him the Michigan Voter Registration Application,” the report stated. “Nan thought that ‘Neil was all good’ as he completed the application while following the staff member into the voting area.”
In Gao’s personal account, he said he thought, “I am a citizen, and I can vote,” according to the Michigan Enjoyer. As The Federalist previously reported, Professors Hannah Smotrich and Stephanie Rowden — who co-lead the “Creative Campus Voting Project,” which was involved in get-out-the-vote efforts at UMMA — have given more than $17,000 total to Democrats and left-wing causes.
But beforehand, Gao allegedly mentioned voting to his roommate, according to the police report, and after Gao allegedly voted, the two returned to their dorm room, where “Neil posted something on a Chinese app … to the effect that he voted.”
“Nan stated that Neil’s consultant from the app is the one who informed Neil that it was illegal for a green card holder to vote,” the police officer’s report stated. When the officer questioned Nan “about this ‘consultant,’” he “couldn’t explain who this consultant was.”
The roommate showed Cavanaugh the app, which “was green and white in color with two ‘comment bubbles’ with eyes in each one,” according to the report. While the specific app has not been confirmed, its description is similar to the Chinese app WeChat — a popular “social messaging and payments platform.”
A judge later signed a search warrant for Gao’s phone, which was “executed” on Nov. 11, according to official documents. His iPhone 14 Pro Max was ultimately logged as evidence.
Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He is a spring 2025 fellow of The College Fix. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.
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