The investigation that exposed Minnesota’s voting problems

By Easton Martin | August 16, 2026

Conservative investigative journalists James O’Keefe and Cam Higby’s latest investigation has caught the ire of Minnesota state officials. The investigation features undercover footage exposing potential vulnerabilities in the state’s election administration.

James O’Keefe and Cam Higby, working alongside their newly formed “Justice League” coalition of independent journalists, recently conducted an undercover inquiry into Minnesota’s same-day voter registration protocols during the state primary. The investigation focused specifically on the state’s controversial “vouching” system, a mechanism allowing a registered voter to sign an oath verifying the residence of an unregistered individual who lacks standard identification.

During the operation, the investigators entered polling precincts in Minneapolis to test whether poll workers properly understood and enforced the legal limits of vouching. Under Minnesota law, an individual registered voter may only vouch for up to eight individuals in a given election. Dressed in Islamic attire and using hidden cameras, the team questioned election workers about how many people could be verified at once and whether strict identity checks were applied. 

The journalists made it clear that they never cast a ballot, nor did they attempt to falsely register any voter. Despite no illegal votes being submitted, Minnesota election officials immediately tried to target the journalists rather than address the questions raised by the footage.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon quickly tried to discredit the undercover footage as an orchestrated stunt and announced that his office is pursuing legal scrutiny against the team. State authorities claim the group may have broken polling place regulations regarding filming, misrepresenting intentions, or causing disturbances inside active precincts.