MINNESOTA PROSECUTOR CHARGES O'KEEFE AND HIGBY WITH VOTING OFFENCES

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty charged James O'Keefe and Cam Higby on Wednesday with felony counts of unlawful voting and identity theft over their conduct at Minnesota polling places in August. Prosecutors allege they gave election judges the names of registered voters in those precincts without the voters' knowledge or permission. The men filmed their interactions with election workers using hidden cameras and posted the videos online. Moriarty said neither man signed the oath required before receiving a ballot. She said Minnesota law prohibits people from intentionally misrepresenting their identity when applying for one.

The filming took place during Minnesota's 11 August primary election. The pair wore Islamic attire, including a niqab worn by one of them, and used fake accents in the recordings. Their videos focused on Minnesota's vouching system, which allows a registered voter to vouch for up to eight other voters in the same precinct. Staff at residential facilities can also vouch for residents. O'Keefe said on X that they aimed to “expose the sheer lunacy of Minnesota's ‘vouching’ system”.

Higby said his investigation sought to “expose vulnerabilities” in Minnesota's voting system. “I never voted, I never signed an affidavit, and I never violated a law,” he said. He alleged that the state was seeking to take away his right to vote permanently. Moriarty said the office of Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon alerted prosecutors to the pair's conduct. Simon said on Wednesday that “any attempt to disrupt or deceive our election workers will not be tolerated”.