Undercover video shows costumed vouching attempt at Minneapolis polls

Vouching used in fewer than 0.6% of Minnesota’s 2024 votes

A video posted to YouTube on Aug. 13 shows O’Keefe, Higby and others dressed in costumes similar to attire worn by some Muslims and using fake accents while asking about the vouching process at multiple Minneapolis voting sites. Higby’s face was covered, and when talking with poll workers, O’Keefe referred to him as his wife. The men recorded the exchanges for the video to expose what they say are vulnerabilities in the state’s voting laws.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the felony charges Wednesday at a news conference. She said O’Keefe, 42, of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Higby, 26, of Covington, Washington, wore costumes and used the names of registered state voters while starting the “vouching” process in the Aug. 11 primary. Moriarty said both men “identified themselves using names of registered voters in the precinct without those voters’ knowledge or permission.”

Minnesota allows registered voters to “vouch” for another voter in the same precinct by signing an oath attesting to the second person’s identity and that they live in the precinct. The person being vouched for also must verify their identity and eligibility by providing their Minnesota driver’s license or identification card number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. The process provides a way for voters who lack proof of their current address to register and vote in their new precinct on the same day after a voter already registered in that precinct vouches for them.

Moriarty said poll workers noticed the “strange behavior” and flagged it to election officials, who asked police to investigate. The men stopped short of signing the oath required for vouching, but Moriarty said giving false names and starting the process was enough to justify the felony charges.

Moriarty said the situation shows that “the system for identifying misconduct and responding to it functioned well during the primary.” She also said, “Free and fair elections are the bedrock of democracy, and their protection is one of our highest priorities.”

O’Keefe, who founded and later was ousted as leader of Project Veritas, came to notoriety by publishing undercover sting-style videos like the one made at the Minnesota polling places. O’Keefe Media Group posted a statement and the video on its website and said the men presented “an intentionally extreme scenario to expose what they see as the lunacy of the state’s ‘vouching’ system.” The statement said the team wanted to determine how election workers would respond, what safeguards they would describe and how far they would allow the vouching process to proceed, and that not every election worker reacted the same way. While several workers explained how the undercover team could proceed under the vouching rules, others became suspicious of the group, took issue with the investigation and communicated concerns about the team over their radios.

David Becker, a former Justice Department official and the executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said he was not aware of any examples of vouching leading to organized or widespread fraud. He said there have been more efforts recently by those pushing voter fraud claims to commit questionable acts themselves. “Impersonating another voter is a very serious crime,” Becker said.

The vouching process is rarely used, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office website, and is most commonly done by older adults who have not updated their address on a driver’s license because they no longer drive. In the November 2024 election, fewer than 0.6% of votes cast used the process, the office said.

Voter identification laws vary from state to state. Thirty-six states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, but that identification can range from a photo ID to things like a utility bill or bank statement. In the remaining 14 states and Washington, D.C., voters can cast a ballot without showing ID, verifying their identity in various other ways, like signing an affidavit or providing personal information like birth date, name or address.

Some states, like Minnesota, allow election officials or other registered voters to vouch for people without a current ID. Alaska and New Hampshire allow officials like a clerk or a supervisor to verify a voter’s identity if they know the voter personally. North Dakota allows people who lack identification cards because of a disability to have an attester certify that they are a qualified voter. West Virginia allows an adult who has known a voter for at least six months to sign a sworn statement verifying the voter’s identity.

O’Keefe was not immediately available for comment, and court records do not name an attorney to comment on his behalf. Higby did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment and did not have an attorney in court records. Neither of them has had an opportunity to enter a plea.