O'Keefe and Higby Face Felonies for Giving Poll Judges Other Voters' Names. Neither Signed an Oath or Cast a Ballot

Two men who filmed themselves talking to election judges at Hennepin County polling places in August now face felony counts under a Minnesota statute that, as written, turns on what they said at the ballot-application desk and not on whether anyone voted. County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced on October 28 that James O'Keefe, 42, and Cameron Higby, 26, are charged with unlawful voting and identity theft over visits to four precincts during the August 11 primary. Their first court appearance is set for November 16.

What the complaints allege

According to MPR News and the International Business Times, which both reported from the county attorney's announcement, the names the two men gave included registered voters who had died and at least one living voter who had already voted in the primary. The complaints identify four voters whose identities were allegedly used. The county's public announcement did not say how O'Keefe and Higby obtained the names, a gap the International Business Times flagged.

The videos, posted by O'Keefe's operation, show the pair at polling places, with the men in burkas and O'Keefe using an accent, asking election workers whether he could vouch for other voters. The workers explained the vouching law, a team member filmed, and the group left. Higby said in one video the plan was to see whether poll workers would let them "vouch for other people who aren't even registered to vote." Secretary of State Steve Simon, whose office alerted prosecutors, later said the workers did exactly what they were supposed to do.

What the statutes say

Minnesota Statutes section 204C.14, subdivision 1, says no individual shall intentionally "misrepresent the individual's identity in applying for a ballot," and that a violation is a felony. The text does not require that a ballot be cast. Subdivision 2 adds that a signature on a polling place roster is prima facie evidence of intent to vote. None of the coverage reviewed for this story says either man signed a roster, and Moriarty said neither signed the vouching oath, which she called an act that would have been felony perjury.

The identity theft count sits in section 609.527, subdivision 2, which covers a person who "transfers, possesses, or uses an identity that is not the person's own, with the intent to commit, aid, or abet any unlawful activity." That wording needs an underlying unlawful activity, and the unlawful voting count is the obvious candidate. The reporting does not say which activity the complaint names, so that link is an inference from the statute. The International Business Times reported that the charging documents list a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine per count, and noted these are statutory ceilings, not a forecast of any sentence.

Where the two sides part

Moriarty's position is that intent to vote is not the question. "I think it's pretty clear they did not intend to vote. That's not the question here," she said Wednesday, adding that "you cannot give somebody else's name and misrepresent yourself as you go through the process." She also drew a line around what is not charged: "It is not against the law to be performative. It is not against the law to be offensive."

O'Keefe's group, which calls itself the Justice League, said in an August press release that the people in the video did not cast ballots and that the project was meant to test the limits of Minnesota's vouching law and document how election workers apply it. After the charges, Higby denied breaking any state law and used social media to fundraise, saying officials wanted to imprison him for exposing election vulnerabilities. MPR News said neither man answered its request for comment.

The vouching rule at the center of it

Election Day registration in Minnesota has several routes, and vouching is one. Under section 201.061, a voter already registered in the precinct signs an oath in front of an election judge that they personally know the unregistered person lives in the precinct. MPR News reports one voter can vouch for up to eight people. In every encounter described, the process stopped before that oath was signed, so the dispute is about the earlier step, the moment a name is given.

MPR News noted that Washington Post reporters caught O'Keefe in 2017 trying to sell them a false story, and that his undercover videos have led to criminal charges against him before. It also reported that state court records show these specific election interference charges have been used only once since 2021, the closest thing to a base rate available. This piece could not obtain the complaints themselves, so it rests on that reporting and on the statute text.

The case will test a narrow point: whether giving an election judge another registered person's name is itself the felony under 204C.14 when the person giving it never intends to vote and never reaches the oath. The November 16 appearance is the first step, and no plea or defense filing had been reported as of Thursday morning.