Two conservative political commentators have been indicted for their polling place impersonation, in which they highlighted Minnesota’s vouching laws in the state’s primary elections.
Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty announced the charges at a news conference Wednesday morning.
RELATED: Minnesota Secretary of State Defends Vouching Law Amid Voter Identity Theft
The complaints accuse James O’Keefe and Cam Higby, members of the Florida-based O’Keefe Media Group, of identity theft and illegal voting.
Last August, two videos shared online in which at least one member of the “Justice League” is dressed in a burqa, and another man in the video can be heard using an accent to try to vouch for the others.
What happened?
In the video posted online, a member of the O’Keefe and Higby group gave the first name “William” to a poll worker at Pratt Elementary School. When asked their last name, they said “Pomeranz” and then asked about the state law on vouching.
William Pomeranz is a real registered voter in Minneapolis, although O’Keefe’s group said in a statement that “The Justice League did not impersonate anyone. At no time did we pretend to be William Pomerantz or any other voter. We named and asked poll workers questions about Minnesota’s guarantor process.”
One man in the video can be heard using an accent to try to vouch for others, but O’Keefe’s group apparently left the polling place after being told they had to sign an oath to vouch for someone.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said 0.6% of Minnesota voters vouched in 2024 — and Simon says he doesn’t remember a case of guarantor fraud during his tenure.
However, it is up to local prosecutors to file charges of any election malfeasance, not the Secretary of State’s office, which confirmed in August that law enforcement was “reviewing” the O’Keefe group video.
RELATED: What is acceptable and prohibited at polling places
Moriarty said his office was informed of these incidents through the secretary of state’s office, adding that the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office represents the county’s election officials.
Two men accused of hiding their identities to vote in primaries
“They have a very good process for election judges to document any unusual behavior, and so that was documented. The Minneapolis Police Department conducted an investigation and one of our investigators conducted additional investigation,” Moriarty said.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to O’Keefe Media Group spokespeople but did not receive a response.
How Minnesota’s vouching law works
To vote, all Minnesotans must provide a valid identification card – driver’s license, state ID card, etc. – which also includes their current address, or they can provide both ID and an approved document (invoice, rental agreement, etc.) that includes the address. Most voters do not need to bring these documents on Election Day because they do so by pre-registering, but these documents are required for same-day registration.
For Minnesotans who have recently moved or do not yet have documentation with their address, they can bring their ID and another registered voter from their same voting district, and that registered voter can vouch for the Minnesotan’s address by signing an oath to satisfy the document requirement for same-day registration.
According to the Secretary of State’s website, “the potential voter must always provide their Minnesota driver’s license or ID card number or the last four digits of their Social Security number to verify their identity.” »
According to the law, only voters registered in the same neighborhood such as the person for whom they vouch, or employees of authorized accommodation establishments who provide proof of their employment in the establishment. Litigants must sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury stating that they have personal knowledge that the person they are vouching for is a resident of the precinct. Any person who has vouched cannot vouch for anyone else, but registered voters can vouch for up to eight voters in their same precinct.
Scrutiny of guarantor law
The video has sparked some controversy over vouching law, but it’s not the first time the law has come under scrutiny.
Last January, the U.S. Department of Justice demanded that Minnesota turn over all records related to the state guarantee system to verify voter residency. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon later tweeted that the guarantor law “appears apparently inconsistent with the Help America Vote Act of 2002.”
However, nothing has been done since by the DOJ, and a previous lawsuit filed by the DOJ against Minnesota regarding voter registration was dismissed by a judge.
Simon said O’Keefe and his group apparently aimed “to sow doubt about one or more Minnesota election laws,” adding, “instead, they revealed their ignorance of how those laws actually work — while putting themselves in legal jeopardy.”
Reaction to accusations
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to O’Keefe Media Group spokespeople but did not hear back.
However, Cam Higby and James O’Keefe reacted to the accusations on their account X, formerly Twitter.
This is breaking news. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is still reviewing the charging documents and working to learn more about the process that led to the charges. Download the KSTP app below for additional updates.
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