Vote Charges

Wednesday, Minneapolis prosecutors charged James O'Keefe and Cam Higby with unlawful voting and identity theft, NBC News reported.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty told reporters the two men walked into Minneapolis polling places on Aug. 11, the day of the state primary, and gave poll workers the names of four registered voters without those voters' knowledge, according to NBC News. Some of the names, she said, belonged to people who had died.

O'Keefe and Higby were testing Minnesota's "vouching" system. Under the law, a registered voter, or a residential facility staffer, can vouch for someone who lacks proof of address, Raw Story reported. The voucher must sign a sworn affidavit. A new voter still must show a driver's license number or part of a Social Security number.

"Both men stopped short of signing the oath we all sign before receiving our ballot," Moriarty said. "But Minnesota law states clearly that no individual shall intentionally misrepresent their identity in applying for a ballot."

At one Minneapolis school, a member of the group gave a poll worker the name "William Pomeranz," an actual registered voter, before asking about the vouching process, Raw Story reported. A worker said the process would require a signed affidavit. The group left. In a statement, the group denied impersonating anyone, saying it only "stated a name and asked election workers questions."

O'Keefe filmed the operation dressed in what he called "Muslim garb," including a full-face veil, and posted the footage on social media in August, NBC News reported. He said the goal was to expose flaws in Minnesota's vouching law.

Secretary of State Steve Simon countered that the men instead "revealed their ignorance of how those laws actually work, while putting themselves in legal jeopardy." Vouching accounted for just 0.6 percent of the state's registrations in 2024, Simon said. He doesn't recall a single confirmed case of vouching fraud, according to Raw Story and Truthout.

Trump has said for years that Democrats have committed voter fraud or rigged elections against him, NBC News reported. His administration has pushed Minnesota on the same vouching law. The Justice Department demanded the state's vouching records in January. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the law "seems facially inconsistent" with federal voting rules, Raw Story reported.

A judge earlier dismissed a separate Justice Department lawsuit against Minnesota over voter registration, Raw Story reported.

Jail isn't in the cards for O'Keefe and Higby, Moriarty said. No handcuffs, no cell. They will instead get summonses to appear in Minnesota court.