Minnesota Prosecutor Charges O'Keefe and Higby Over Voter Names Used at Polls

MINNEAPOLIS: Conservative activists James O'Keefe and Cam Higby face felony charges in Minnesota after a prosecutor said they handed poll workers the names of registered voters during the state's Aug. 11 primary. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the counts on Wednesday. The charges are unlawful voting and identity theft.

Moriarty said O'Keefe, 42, of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Higby, 26, of Covington, Washington, put on costumes and began the "vouching" process at Minneapolis voting sites using the identities of people registered in those precincts. The two recorded the exchanges for a video posted to YouTube on Aug. 13. Poll workers grew suspicious and reported what they saw to election officials, who asked police to investigate. The men did not sign the oath that vouching requires. Moriarty said giving false names and starting the process was enough to support the felony charges.

The video shows O'Keefe, Higby and others in costume using fake accents to ask about vouching rules at several Minneapolis locations. Higby's face was covered, and O'Keefe referred to him as his wife. Moriarty said both men "identified themselves using names of registered voters in the precinct without those voters' knowledge or permission." She also said "the system for identifying misconduct and responding to it functioned well during the primary."

Vouching lets a registered voter in a precinct sign an oath confirming another person's identity and residence so that person can register and vote. The person being vouched for must also sign an oath and provide a Minnesota driver's license or identification number, or the last four digits of a Social Security number. The Minnesota Secretary of State's office reported that fewer than 0.6% of votes cast in the November 2024 election used the process. O'Keefe's organization, O'Keefe Media Group, posted the video on its site and said the team ran "an intentionally extreme scenario to expose what they see as the lunacy of the state's 'vouching' system."

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research and a former Justice Department official, said he was not aware of instances where vouching produced organized or widespread fraud. He said efforts by people pushing voter fraud claims to commit questionable acts themselves have increased recently. "Impersonating another voter is a very serious crime," Becker said.

Voter identification requirements differ across the country. The National Conference of State Legislatures reports that 36 states request or require identification at the polls, ranging from photo ID to a utility bill or bank statement. Voters in 14 states and Washington, D.C., can cast ballots without showing ID but verify identity other ways, such as signing an affidavit or giving a birth date, name or address. Minnesota allows election officials or other registered voters to vouch. Alaska and New Hampshire permit clerks or supervisors to verify identity when they know the voter personally. North Dakota allows an attester to certify a qualified voter who lacks an identification card because of a disability. West Virginia permits an adult who has known a voter for at least six months to sign a sworn statement confirming identity.

Neither O'Keefe nor Higby has an attorney listed in court records, and neither has entered a plea. O'Keefe founded Project Veritas and later left as its leader. Moriarty said, "Free and fair elections are the bedrock of democracy, and their protection is one of our highest priorities."