Simon warns attempts to deceive election workers will not be tolerated
Cam Higby, a 26-year-old political commentator, told the BBC he sought to “expose vulnerabilities” in the Minnesota voting system and alleged the state is now trying to take away his right to vote. “This investigation was conducted to expose vulnerabilities in the Minnesota voting system, which affects all Americans,” he said. “I never voted, I never signed an affidavit, and I never violated a law,” he continued. “For showing how Minnesota abuses votes, they seek to take mine away from me permanently.”
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, the state’s chief election officer, said in a statement on Wednesday that “any attempt to disrupt or deceive our election workers will not be tolerated.” He added: “Polling places are the heart of our democracy and should be places of safety and peace.”
The comments come after Hennepin County prosecutors charged James Edward O’Keefe, 42, and Higby with unlawful voting and identity theft, saying the two men “intentionally” misrepresented their identities when applying for ballots. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office confirmed neither of the men signed the required oath to confirm their address. Prosecutors allege the pair misrepresented their identities by giving election judges the names of registered voters in the precinct without those voters’ knowledge or permission.
Prosecutors accused the two of trying to sow doubt in the state’s voting systems after they shared a video, recorded at a Minnesota polling site in August, that shows them in Islamic attire and using fake accents while interacting with poll workers.
The recorded August incident was an attempt to highlight a Minnesota law that allows registered voters to vouch for the identity and address of up to eight people. The law is intended to assist people who recently moved to the state to vote — not to impersonate other registered voters. At the time, Higby captioned the video: “I dressed as a Muslim woman and Minneapolis poll workers were prepared to allow me and an army of other foreigners to fraudulently vote without verifying who any of us are.”
State law holds that no individual can intentionally misrepresent their identity in applying for a ballot, depositing a ballot in a ballot box or attempting to vote by means of a voting machine or electronic voting system.
It was not immediately clear when O’Keefe and Higby are due in court. The BBC has contacted O’Keefe for comment. O’Keefe is the founder of Project Veritas, a right-wing activist group and media company that seeks to investigate and expose corruption and is known for producing secretly recorded encounters. After being ousted from Project Veritas, he founded O’Keefe Media Group.