Right-wing activists James OKeefe, Cam Higby charged with unlawfully voting in Minnesota
Conservative activists James O’Keefe and Cam Higby were charged Wednesday with unlawful voting and identity theft after a Minnesota prosecutor said they gave false names to poll workers during the state’s primary election.The men recorded the exchanges for a video to expose what they say are vulnerabilities in the state’s voting laws.Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the felony charges at a news conference.
She said O’Keefe, 42, of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Higby, 26, of Covington, Washington, wore costumes and used the names of registered state voters while starting the “vouching” process in the Aug.11 primary.
The process provides a way for unregistered voters who lack proof of their current address to register and vote after signing an oath of eligibility.Poll workers were suspicious and reported their behavior.Moriarty said the situation shows that “the system for identifying misconduct and responding to it functioned well during the primary.”O’Keefe, who founded and later was ousted as leader of Project Veritas, came to notoriety by publishing undercover sting-style videos like the one made at the Minnesota polling places.
He was not immediately available for comment, and court records do not name an attorney to comment on his behalf.Higby did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment and did not have an attorney in court records.Neither of them has had an opportunity to enter a plea.Minnesota allows registered voters to “vouch” for another voter in the same precinct by signing an oath attesting to the second person’s identity and that they live in the precinct.
The person being vouched for also must sign an oath attesting to their identity and eligibility to vote, and must also provide their Minnesota driver’s license or identification card number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.The process is rarely used but is most commonly done by older adults who have not updated their ad...