Conservative media activist James O’Keefe and his associate Cam Higby have been hit with felony charges in Minnesota after prosecutors say the two men gave false names to poll workers during the state’s August primary election while filming an undercover video.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the charges Wednesday, accusing O’Keefe, 42, of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Higby, 26, of Covington, Washington, of unlawful voting and identity theft. Moriarty said the men used the names of real registered voters without their knowledge or consent.
The incident took place during Minnesota’s Aug. 11 primary at multiple Minneapolis polling locations. The two men reportedly wore costumes and used fake accents while approaching poll workers to test the state’s same-day voter registration process known as “vouching.”
Minnesota’s vouching system allows a registered voter in a precinct to vouch for another person who lacks proof of their current address, enabling that person to register and vote on the same day. The process is rarely used and accounted for less than 0.6% of ballots cast during the November 2024 election.
Poll workers grew suspicious of the men’s behavior and alerted election officials, who then contacted police. Moriarty noted that while the men stopped short of signing the required oath, simply providing false names and initiating the process was sufficient grounds for the felony charges.
O’Keefe’s organization, O’Keefe Media Group, posted the video online on Aug. 13 and released a statement saying the operation was designed to expose what they described as weaknesses in Minnesota’s vouching system. The group said they wanted to see how election workers would respond to what they called an extreme scenario.
Moriarty pushed back on that framing, saying the episode actually demonstrated that election safeguards are working. “Free and fair elections are the bedrock of democracy and their protection is one of our highest priorities” she said.
O’Keefe founded Project Veritas, the conservative undercover journalism organization, and built his reputation on sting-style videos before being ousted from the group. He was not immediately available for comment and no attorney was listed in court records on his behalf. Higby also did not respond to requests for comment and had no attorney listed in court filings.
Neither man has yet entered a plea. Election integrity experts say voter impersonation through vouching systems has not been linked to any documented cases of widespread or organized fraud.