Minnesota’s Vouching Law – No ID Required?

While America battles for voter security and integrity, Minnesota has somehow managed to find a way to make it even easier to commit fraud. Imagine being able to participate in one of the most sacred duties of citizenship – voting – simply by getting some other registered voter to vouch for you. Got a good friend who’s “sure” you’re eligible, whether you really are or not? How about someone willing to lie? Well, that’s good enough in the North Star State, and it has been for a long time thanks to its vouching law. Who needs ID when you have personal references?

Vouching Law Exposes Potential Voter Fraud

Political activist James O’Keefe brought to light Minnesota’s vouching law in a video that showed just how easy it is to get unregistered voters registered. No ID or any other kind of proof is required, according to his findings. The process is simple. A registered voter can vouch for up to eight people who don’t have permission to vote. The voucher just has to say he knows the people personally, lives in the same district as them, and that they can verify the person’s address, and voila, they are now registered voters. It’s easy, it’s abusable, and it has been the law for many years.

Insane – that’s how Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) put it when he shared the video on X.

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O’Keefe made a name for himself by providing undercover videos to expose various situations, and – in his own words – has been sued “more times than I can count.” Along with Cam Higby, he dressed up in Muslim attire and visited Minneapolis polling places on primary day, August 11. In the video, O’Keefe asked about the vouching law, and was told by one of the election workers: “If you’re all in the same precinct and you are already registered, you can vouch for them as ID. Eight people.”

And then he asked: “And no ID needed. I just vouch for them.”

The poll worker confirmed by explaining: “Well, you’re the ID.”

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins expressed his concern and surprise on X: “This is crazy…and is a situation ripe for election fraud. In Missouri, we require a photo ID to vote, we banned ballot drop boxes, the vast majority of mail-in ballots are required to be notarized and we don’t have the ‘vouching’ system like they have in Minnesota.”

As politicians debate over the SAVE Act and how – or whether – to enforce voter ID laws, Minnesota makes it so that just about anyone can vote. “Minnesota unintentionally makes a compelling case for the SAVE Act,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) posted on X. “This is freaking nuts.”

Breaking the Law?

America First Legal (AFL) reported last month that, in 2024, 18,898 people used vouching to either update their voter registration or to get registered in the state. “Minnesota’s voter registration rolls contain significant numbers of individuals registered at addresses where they do not actually reside,” the law firm wrote in a pre-litigation notice sent to Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. “This is reflected in the disproportionately high rates of undeliverable postal verification cards associated with vouched registrations, the elevated rates at which vouched voters are placed in challenged status, and failures identified through post-election verification reports.”

“Minnesota’s vouching system turns Election Day into an honor-system free-for all,” James K. Rogers, senior counsel at America First Legal, told the press. “It undermines election integrity by allowing unverified and potentially unlawful registrations that cannot be remedied after ballots are counted. This system violates federal law, which requires states to make reasonable efforts to maintain accurate voter rolls and to administer programs uniformly and without discrimination.”

AFL said it plans to file a lawsuit if Minnesota doesn’t correct the “legal deficiencies” in its vouching system.

Secretary Simon, however, claims O’Keefe and Higby may have put themselves in “legal jeopardy.” In a press release, he wrote: “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.”

The vouching law has been in place for more than half a century, and Simon says the process is very rare. “In the 2024 general election, less than 0.6% of votes cast used this process,” he explained in the press release. “Around 71% of those voters were already registered to vote but needed to update their name or address in their voter record.”

“Vouching can only be used to provide proof of a potential voter’s residence in their precinct,” he continued. “The potential voter must still provide their Minnesota driver’s license or ID card number or the last four digits of their social security for identify verification.” He said that the vouching system is commonly used in senior living facilities by residents who haven’t updated their information to reflect their current residence. According to the vouching law, while an individual can vouch for up to eight people, a senior living facilities don’t have a limit.

Voting is one of the most important rights Americans have, and protecting that right also means making sure every legal vote belongs to a qualified voter. Supporters may argue that vouching helps eligible residents prove where they live, but election integrity depends not only on preventing fraud, but also on having safeguards strong enough that voters can trust the process. When something as consequential as an election is at stake, “trust me, I know this person” may be a little too much trust and not nearly enough verification.