First posted on Instagram
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, that conservative activists James O'Keefe and Cam Higby have each been charged with one count of unlawful voting and one count of identity theft, both felonies, over videos they filmed at Minneapolis-area polling places during Minnesota's August 11 primary election. Each count carries up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Neither man was in custody, according to charging documents cited by ABC News.
Prosecutors say the two men visited four precincts in Hennepin County on August 11 and gave election judges the names of real registered voters in those precincts without the voters' knowledge or permission. Some of the names belonged to residents who had died, and at least one belonged to a person who had already voted in the primary. Moriarty said one voter who had cast a ballot was shocked to learn his name had been used, and investigators do not know how the pair obtained the voters' details.
The visits were filmed as part of an undercover video testing Minnesota's "vouching" system. O'Keefe, 42, the ousted founder of Project Veritas who now runs O'Keefe Media Group, and Higby, 26, wore burqas and spoke in fake accents as they asked election judges how vouching works. The workers explained the law, and the team left when told they would have to sign an oath. Neither man signed a vouching oath, and no ballots were cast.
Minnesota's vouching rule allows a registered voter from the same precinct to vouch, under oath, for the address of up to eight people registering at the polls. Vouchers must sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury confirming they know the person. The practice is rarely used — fewer than 0.6% of ballots in the 2024 general election involved vouching, according to the Minnesota secretary of state's office — largely by people updating names or addresses in voter records.
Moriarty argued that the law was broken even though no ballot was cast and no oath was signed. "Both men stopped short of signing the oath we all sign before receiving our ballot," she said at a press conference. "But Minnesota law states clearly that no individual shall intentionally misrepresent their identity in applying for a ballot." She said applying for a ballot begins the moment a person introduces themselves to an election judge, and that vouching is a multi-step process. She added that the men's politics played no part in her decision, and that "it is not against the law to be offensive."
O'Keefe's group said in August that the people in the videos "did not cast ballots" and were testing the limits of the vouching law. O'Keefe said on X that they dressed in "Muslim garb" — including, for one of them, a full-face veil — to show what he called the "sheer lunacy" of the system. Higby said in an August livestream that he was testing the system and did not vote, and he has called the charges "LAWFARE" on X.
Moriarty said her office was alerted to the conduct by the office of Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. Simon called the scheme "outrageous" and said: "We have zero tolerance for lying, lawbreaking, and disruptions at our polling places."
The charges are accusations, and both men are presumed innocent.