A video of a Minnesota official telling Somali residents they can show up to vote in Tuesday’s election without being registered has prompted concerns about election integrity in the North Star State.
“If you’re already registered to vote, you don’t need to bring anything with you,” Minnesota Voter Outreach Director Melanie Hazelip can be seen saying on Somali TV.
She continued, “You just show up to your early voting location, which is usually the county office or City Hall. Minneapolis and the bigger jurisdictions have a lot of extra places where you can go, like a lot of libraries or community centers. As long as you’re registered to vote, you don’t need to bring anything with you.”
Hazelip (whose name is misspelled on the clip) lays out other alternatives that soon ignited criticism on social media.
“If you’re not registered to vote… you still have options. If you have a Minnesota ID that is updated, that’s all you need to bring with you. If you don’t have that, there is a list of documents on our website that you can find. You still have options to get registered same day.”
What she doesn’t say in the clip is that one has to be a U.S. citizen to vote.
While there is nothing Hazelip says that violates Minnesota law, the video caused an eruption on social media after it was posted by End Wokeness, the conservative influencer racking up three quarters of a million views with the post.
Conservative X accounts were quick to repost Hazelip, jumping all over Minnesota’s same-day-registration system and the official’s suggestions to her Somali viewers.
“A Minnesota election official just went on Somali TV and walked viewers through how to same-day register and vote using a Minnesota state ID,” retired Navy intelligence Officer Phillip C. Parrish posted.
He continued:
Minnesota hands out those IDs to non-citizens with no citizenship marking. Vouching lets one registered voter clear up to eight others on an oath. Citizenship is required by law. Real-time proof is not. The same state that lost hundreds of millions to documented fraud in childcare, nutrition, and Medicaid programs is now advertising the lowest-friction path to the ballot on community TV. Affirm you’re a citizen. Cast the vote. Get investigated later — if at all. This is how the system is built. It is not an accident.
Federalist Society co-founder David McIntosh wrote on X, “Democrats are on a mission to tell every noncitizen how they can get away with voting in our elections. How is this not election interference?”
“Nothing to see here, I’m sure,” Red Ax Strategies President Matthew Brodsky posted on X.
“This is why passing the SAVE America Act is crucial,” Outkick’s Riley Gaines posted.
In light of the controversy, the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office issued a statement to Fox News Digital, saying it “provides information and resources on Minnesota election laws to hundreds of nonpartisan community groups every year as a part of our regular voter engagement efforts.”
The statement continued, “Recently, our voter outreach director spoke with a local news outlet and provided accurate information about Minnesota election laws and how eligible voters cast their ballots. Unfortunately, her accurate remarks have been misinterpreted and misrepresented by political actors online.”
It added, “With only a few days left before the election, we remain focused on making sure every eligible Minnesotan knows how and where to cast their ballot.”
Bill Glahn, a policy fellow at the Center of the American Experiment, told Fox News Digital, “Given the timing, so close to the election — and the audience, Somali TV — she really should have emphasized the need to be an American citizen in order to vote.”
“It’s true most Somali immigrants are naturalized citizens, but not all,” Glahn said. “In fact, we just had a noncitizen sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for the Feeding Our Future fraud.”
The heightened scrutiny around the official’s outreach to Somali voters is no doubt fueled by the hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud tied to the state’s Somali immigrant community.
Fox Digital also reported:
Critics pointed to a further wrinkle in Minnesota state law signed by Gov. Tim Walz in 2023 that provided for Driver’s Licenses For All regardless of immigration status. The policy also stipulates that the licenses carry no markings indicating citizenship, even though such IDs are commonly used to register to vote.
Under Minnesota law, a registered voter can “vouch” for up to eight other voters’ residency who want to sign up for same-day voter registration without an ID. The registered voter must go with the person or people to the polling place and sign an oath verifying their address, according to an official fact sheet from the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State.
Gahn has said the system can be easily fooled, saying noncitizen voting is illegal, although “it’s like murder’s illegal, but it happens all the time.”
“It’s a penalty of perjury,” he said. “You signed an oath, but if you signed as Mickey Mouse, they’re not going to find you.”
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