Minnesota authorities reviewing voting vouching stunt by conservative influencer
Conservative political commentator Cam Higby speaks during a roundtable discussion in the State Dining Room of the White House on October 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump’s administration held the roundtable to discuss the anti-fascist Antifa moveme (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota state officials say authorities are reviewing an "outrageous and totally unacceptable" stunt by a conservative influencer who impersonated other voters at Minneapolis polling sites on primary day while dressed in an Islamic niqab as part of an attempt to prove how easy it was to commit voter fraud in the state.
Voter fraud video
The backstory:
In a YouTube video framed as an election integrity test, conservative influencer Cameron Higby documented his trip to a polling site in Minneapolis on primary day last Tuesday.
In the video, Higby, dressed head to toe in a niqab, which obscured his face and much of his entire body, went to polling sites and gave poll workers information for other voters, including a woman.
Dig deeper:
Higby also asked to take advantage of the state's "vouching" provision, which allows voters to vouch for other voters. The law is intended to allow for eligible voters who aren't properly registered to cast a vote on Election Day by allowing for a registered voter to confirm their residency. The Minnesota Secretary of State says, most of the time, vouching is used by people who are registered to vote but have moved and haven't updated their address. In 2024, less than 0.6 percent of votes were cast using vouching.
Local perspective:
An election judge manual on the Secretary of State website states that judges are required to confirm the voucher is registered at that precinct and have them fill out a form. Voters are asked to provide a Minnesota driver's license or the last four digits of their Social Security number when they register.
What happened in the video?
What happened?:
At the first site, Higby is told that a vouchee still needed to provide identification to register to vote. The vouching only allowed Highby to affirm the person lived in the precinct. However, Higby was told he could vote as long as he was already registered. It appeared Higby made an excuse to leave the site before going through with obtaining the ballot and voting.
Workers at the second polling site, which appeared to be the Waite Park Elementary School, told him an ID wasn't required for the vouching, but the validity would be checked. The third site, the Pratt Community School, also told the group an ID wasn't needed for the vouching process. Both sites told Higby and James O'Keefe they could vouch for up to eight other voters.
Big picture view:
Higby partnered with James O'Keefe on the video, who is known for his past work with Project Veritas, a conservative journalism outlet that has faced scrutiny over misleading reports.
In 2020, FOX 9 investigated another Project Veritas video investigating reports of voter fraud in Minneapolis and found some serious flaws, including allegations by the main subject of the video who claimed he was offered a bribe by Project Veritas.
O'Keefe was ousted from Project Veritas in 2023 after the outlet's board claimed it uncovered "financial malfeasance."
Simon says incident is being investigated
What they're saying:
In a statement on Friday, Secretary of State Steve Simon responded to Higby's video, calling it "outrageous and totally unacceptable."
Simon also said poll workers immediately reported these visits to local election officials and law enforcement was reviewing the situation.
Simon's statement reads:
"During Minnesota’s Primary on August 11, 2026, members of a widely discredited Florida-based political group visited several polling places in Minneapolis impersonating Minnesota voters. Dressed in what they called ‘Muslim’ costumes, and imitating foreign accents, they falsely claimed to be registered Minnesota voters. The group used concealed cameras to record their interactions with poll workers, releasing a heavily edited video of their encounters. 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.
"Poll workers immediately reported these visits to local election officials and law enforcement is reviewing the situation.
"The misconduct by this group is outrageous and totally unacceptable. We have zero tolerance for lying, lawbreaking, and disruptions at our polling places.
"Voters deserve better, as do the tens of thousands of our neighbors and friends who serve as poll workers. Our aim, as always, is to ensure that our polling places are islands of calm. Minnesota laws are there to ensure that outcome."
Higby responds to investigation
The other side:
Higby responded to Simon's statement during a livestream on Saturday.
"I didn't actually vote," said Higby. "I just showed up and tested the system. But they were going to allow me to vote just with first, last and address. And actually, at one of the polling locations where they told me that I didn't need ID for myself or the eight other people that I was vouching for, they didn't even ask my address. All they asked for was first and last and they couldn't see my face. They had physically no way of verifying that I was or was not that person."
As far as the investigation, Higby said: "I cannot believe that they actually are threatening me now. I'll give it to them. They're veiled threats. They're veiled threats to be sure. He didn't say, I'm going to throw this guy in jail and and throw away the key. He said, law enforcement are investigating. This is like the top guy in the state under the governor. This is the Marco Rubio of Minnesota. He's a secretary of state. He said law enforcement are investigating this guy's actions. He's put himself in jeopardy. He called what I did misconduct. And then he said, the voters deserve better, to which I can't disagree with him on. I can't disagree with him on. They deserve to have faith in their elections."
"Stop trying to throw journalists in jail for proving that you have intentionally created a system that allows for fraud and cheating. Why don't we stop that? There is no excuse."
Higby went on to advocate for the passage of the SAVE Act.
Big picture view:
During the livestream, Higby made it clear that he did not vote during the filming of the video.
However, it's not clear if what Higby or O'Keefe did wasn't a violation of Minnesota statute. Minnesota law forbids misrepresenting your identity in applying for a ballot. If authorities deem Higby or O'Keefe violated this statute, they could be charged with a felony.