A viral video has drawn renewed attention to Minnesota’s controversial voter “vouching” law — and led to threats of legal action against the reporters behind it all.
Under Minnesota state law, an individual seeking to become registered to vote on Election Day can confirm their residency simply by having a registered voter “vouch” for them.
Registered voters can vouch for up to eight people, but someone who is vouched for cannot vouch for someone else. Staff at residential facilities can vouch for an unlimited number of facility residents.
The law requires the voucher to accompany the vouchee to the polling place and sign an oath affirming that the voucher is either registered in the precinct or employed by the residential facility, and that the voucher personally knows the vouchee resides in the precinct.
The Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office previously told Alpha News that “vouching is only used to provide proof of a potential voter’s residence in the precinct. The potential voter must still provide their Minnesota driver’s license or ID card number, or the last four digits of their social security number, for identity verification.”
America First Legal (AFL) obtained data earlier this year showing that 18,898 people used “vouching” to either update their voter registration or become registered to vote in Minnesota in 2024.
Now, the vouching law has been put to the test in a video released by reporters James O’Keefe and Cam Higby, who dressed up in Muslim attire and visited various Minneapolis polling places on primary day last week.
“And no ID needed. I just vouch for them,” O’Keefe says in the video.
“Well you’re the ID,” a poll worker replies.
The video has been viewed nearly 7 million times on the social media platform X and has elicited reactions from politicians and commentators across the country.
CAUGHT INSIDE MINNEAPOLIS POLLING BOOTHS: Minnesota Poll Workers Tell O’Keefe, Dressed in Muslim Garb, & @camhigby, in a Burka, That They Can Vouch for Eight Unregistered Voters Without ID, Allowing Them to Vote in Minnesota Primary Election
Election worker says, “You’re the… pic.twitter.com/bUPVxym08G
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) August 13, 2026
“Utterly insane,” commented U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
“This is crazy…and is a situation ripe for election fraud,” said Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins.
“Minnesota unintentionally makes a compelling case for the SAVE America Act. This is freaking nuts,” added U.S. Sen. Mike Lee.
Additionally, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon has weighed in on the video, saying Higby and O’Keefe put themselves in “legal jeopardy.”
“Their apparent goal was to cast doubt on one or more Minnesota election laws that have been in force for over fifty years. Instead, they revealed their ignorance of how those laws actually work— while putting themselves in legal jeopardy,” Simon said.
He said law enforcement is “reviewing the situation” and that his office has “zero tolerance for lying, lawbreaking, and disruptions at our polling places.”
O’Keefe responded to Simon online, saying Simon is “threatening us for exposing the truth on their broken vouching system.”
“I’ve been threatened with arrest more times than I can count,” O’Keefe wrote. “What I’ve learned in 20 years of doing this you CANNOT stop a man in the right who keeps on coming.”
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
