A ballot that federal prosecutors allege was cast by a Chinese national using his former landlord’s identity was included in a Massachusetts city’s certified 2024 election count, according to the city clerk.
“Yes, the ballot was processed as every other and was counted in the final certified vote,” Malden city clerk Carol Ann Desiderio told The Epoch Times.
Desiderio also said the city had identified no problem with the voter registration or ballot before federal investigators contacted Malden.
The ballot is at the center of a federal case against Yupeng Sun, 33, of Andover, who was charged on Aug. 19 with fraudulent voter registration and fraudulent voting.
Prosecutors allege that Sun used the identity of his former landlord, identified in court papers as J.L., to register online in J.L.’s name on Oct. 10, 2024.
J.L. is a Chinese citizen and lawful permanent resident, not a U.S. citizen, and was ineligible to vote. He later told federal investigators that he had neither registered nor voted in the 2024 election.
Three weeks after the registration, prosecutors say, Sun went to Malden City Hall, identified himself as J.L., received an early ballot, and voted under J.L.’s name.
A Massachusetts voter record filed with the criminal complaint listed the ballot as “accepted.” Desiderio confirmed that it was included in the final certified count.
Registration Passed State Checks
The registration in J.L.’s name was submitted through the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s online voter registration system, according to the federal complaint and an election integrity FAQ provided by Malden.
Prosecutors allege that Sun entered J.L.’s real name, former Malden address, and Massachusetts driver’s license number.
Malden said online registrations are processed through the statewide voter registration system and cross checked against records held by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.
Those checks can determine whether identifying information matches government records, the city told The Epoch Times, but “cannot necessarily determine whether a person is unlawfully using another individual’s genuine identifying information.”
The state’s online registration portal also requires an applicant to state that he or she is a U.S. citizen before proceeding.
A Massachusetts driver’s license by itself does not establish citizenship. Qualifying Massachusetts residents can obtain standard driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status.
The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s published online registration pages describe the citizenship declaration and the Registry of Motor Vehicles identity check. They do not describe a check of the applicant’s citizenship against federal immigration or citizenship records before the registration is processed.
The Secretary’s office did not respond by publication time to questions about what eligibility checks applied to the October 2024 online registration in J.L.’s name or whether safeguards have been reviewed since the case came to light.
When federal investigators later showed Sun the voter registration, the affidavit says he acknowledged submitting it.
“I tell you the truth, I register,” Sun is quoted as saying.
Malden’s FAQ says that after an online registration is processed, the local election office mails an acknowledgment notice to the address associated with the registration. The city said the notice gives the resident an opportunity to report an unauthorized registration.
The federal complaint does not say whether J.L. received or saw such a notice before the election.
The registration created in J.L.’s name was later marked inactive on May 20, 2025. Desiderio said that occurred because the household did not respond to Massachusetts’ annual street-list census by the state deadline—not because officials had detected the alleged fraudulent registration.
Ballot Was Issued and Counted
When a person appears to vote, election workers check the name against the official voter list and follow the requirements associated with that voter’s status, according to Malden.
Massachusetts does not require every voter to present photo identification. State rules require identification in certain circumstances, including for some first time voters, inactive voters, and challenged or provisional ballots.
Prosecutors allege that Sun appeared at Malden City Hall as J.L. on Oct. 31, received an early ballot, voted, and signed J.L.’s name on the ballot envelope.
When investigators later showed Sun an image of the envelope, the affidavit quotes him as saying, “I used his name to vote.”
A screenshot from federal court documents in the voter-fraud case against Yupeng Sun, a Chinese national charged in Massachusetts on Aug. 19, 2026. U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot via The Epoch Times
Malden said its election workers followed Massachusetts procedures. The federal complaint does not accuse city employees of creating the registration, altering voter records, or intentionally disregarding election rules.
The city said the case does not establish that Malden’s election system or the 2024 election was compromised.
Sun has not been convicted, and the allegations against him have not been tested at trial.
By the time the registration created in J.L.’s name was marked inactive in May 2025, the ballot cast under his name had already been included in Malden’s certified election count.
