Minnesota prosecutors have charged conservative activists James O’Keefe and Cam Higby with two felonies after an undercover voting stunt, though both say they were testing election rules and neither cast a ballot
Two conservative activists in Minnesota are facing felony charges after an undercover exercise at polling stations during the August 11 primary election. James O’Keefe and Cam Higby visited several polling stations and used the names of registered voters while asking for ballots. They filmed the exercise to test the state’s election rules and later shared the videos online. Although neither man actually voted, Hennepin County prosecutors charged them with unlawful voting and identity theft on Wednesday.O’Keefe and Higby maintain that they were conducting an investigation, not trying to cast illegal votes. Prosecutors, however, say their actions went beyond testing the rules because they used other people’s identities without permission.According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the two men gave election workers names belonging to voters registered at the polling stations they visited. Some of those names belonged to people who had died, while at least one belonged to someone who had already voted, MPR News reported.Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the absence of an actual vote did not change the allegations. “I think it’s pretty clear they did not intend to vote. That’s not the question here,” she told reporters on Wednesday, as quoted by MPR news.
What were the two activists trying to prove?
The videos show the activists visiting polling stations in Minneapolis to examine how election workers check voters’ identities and handle people seeking to register on Election Day.In one recording, Higby explained that they wanted to find out whether people could vote without showing identification. They also planned to see whether someone could help another person register without being registered to vote themselves.The exercise focused particularly on Minnesota’s ‘vouching system’, which allows a registered voter to confirm the address of someone who wants to register on Election Day.O’Keefe was filmed asking election workers about this procedure while speaking in an accent. The workers explained how the system operated, and his team subsequently left the polling station. Videos also showed members of the group wearing burqas outside polling stations.The activists later presented the recordings as part of their investigation into possible weaknesses in Minnesota’s voting system. But state officials disputed the suggestion that the videos showed election workers failing to follow the rules.Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said the workers had acted correctly and followed the required election procedures.
How Minnesota allows people to register?
Unlike systems where voters must complete registration before election day, Minnesota offers several ways for eligible people to register when they arrive at a polling station.One option is vouching. A person who is already registered in the same voting precinct can accompany an unregistered voter and confirm where that person lives.The registered voter must sign an oath confirming the address. Minnesota law allows one registered voter to vouch for up to eight people.O’Keefe and Higby were examining this arrangement because they wanted to see how election workers would respond when someone sought to use it.However, prosecutors say the law also makes it illegal to deliberately give a false identity while applying for a ballot. They argue that this restriction applies even when the person does not go on to vote.Neither activist signed the oath required for vouching. Moriarty said signing it falsely could have resulted in a separate felony perjury allegation. Instead, the present charges concern the identities the men allegedly used while requesting ballots.
What O’Keefe and Higby say
O’Keefe’s group, which describes itself as the “Justice League”, defended the exercise in a statement issued in August. It said the participants “did not cast ballots. The investigation was intended to test the limits of Minnesota’s vouching law and document how election workers apply it on Election Day.”Higby also rejected the allegations after prosecutors announced the charges. In a social media post seeking financial support, he accused Minnesota officials of trying to imprison him “for exposing election vulnerabilities in their state.”O’Keefe is known for producing undercover recordings. His previous activities have also led to criminal charges. In 2017, Washington Post reporters uncovered an attempt by O’Keefe to persuade the newspaper to publish a false story.
What happens next in the case?
The Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office had alerted prosecutors to the activists’ activities during the primary election. Following an investigation, both men were charged with unlawful voting and identity theft.According to MPR News, court records show that the particular election-related charges involved in this case have been used only once in Minnesota since 2021.Moriarty said the case was not about whether the activists’ behaviour was offensive or intended to attract attention. The concern, she explained, was their alleged use of other voters’ identities inside polling stations. “It is not against the law to be performative. It is not against the law to be offensive,” she said.Simon also supported the action against the two men, saying election workers should be able to carry out their duties without being deceived or disrupted.Both O’Keefe and Higby are scheduled to appear in court on November 16.
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