Minnesota lets voters 'vouch' for up to 8 others as fraud scandals fuel calls for federal crackdown
Fresh attention is being drawn to a Minnesota election policy that allows a registered voter to "vouch" for up to eight people seeking same-day registration.
The scrutiny comes as the Walz administration confronts hundreds of millions of dollars lost to social services fraud tied to the state’s Somali immigrant community. 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 Minnesota Department of State.
"A registered voter can vouch for up to eight voters. You cannot vouch for others if someone vouched for you," the department said in the fact sheet.
Unvouched-for residents who want to vote same-day must provide at least one form of identity verification; including a valid Minnesota license or learner’s permit, a "receipt" for them, or a tribal identification card that includes a photo and signature.
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So long as the prospective voter can prove residency, the proof-of-ID can be a driver's license or learner’s permit from any of the 50 states, a passport, an expired ID, military ID, or Minnesota university or high school identification card.
If a person is registered to vote in a precinct but changed their name or moved within the precinct, they can also vote as long as they inform the precinct election judge of their previous name or address.
The situation drew the attention of a top Republican in the Senate who has persistently advocated for secure elections.
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Sen. Mike Lee of Utah cited voting rights activist Scott Presler’s accounting of the voter "vouching" policy and said his SAVE Act – Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility – would require proof-of-citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.
The bill could stymie Minnesota’s current policy, as Lee’s language establishes criminal penalties against election officials who register applicants to vote that fail to present documentary proof of citizenship.
"The Senate should send it to President Trump’s desk for signature ASAP," Lee said.
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The SAVE Act passed the House in April but awaits further action in the GOP-controlled Senate.
Presler told Fox News Digital he was inspired by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley to further investigate fraud in Minnesota.
"I thought, ‘why not use this opportunity to expose potential voter fraud as Minnesota is trending’," he said.
Of the vouching policy laid out on Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon's official website, Presler commented, "Does this allow for potential fraud and abuse of our elections? Absolutely – Especially when you consider that MN has same-day voter registration."
He noted that "Saturday Night Live" alum and former Democratic Sen. Al Franken won his 2008 election by only 312 votes, while adding that about 542,000 or 19% of Minnesota voters took advantage of same-day registration.
An official in Simon’s office told Fox News Digital that the vouching policy has been intact for "more than 50 years."
Several measures are in place to help keep the election system in Minnesota secure under the vouching policy, according to deputy communications director Cassondra Knudson.
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"Vouching can only be used to provide proof of a potential voter’s residence in the precinct. The potential voter must still provide their Minnesota driver’s license or ID card number or the last four digits of their Social Security number for identity verification," Knudson said.
"Vouching is most commonly used in senior living facilities by residents who have not updated their driver’s licenses to reflect their current residence. It is also sometimes used in cases where an eligible voter has recently moved to a new address and lacks identification indicating the new address."
The statute in question provides for election judges to fill out a form to record the number of vouching voters – which then is affirmed through the oath of the voter-applicant.
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Knudson also shared a web page with information detailing Minnesota’s election security measures, which include the prevalence of election judges at each polling place, cross-checking ballots cast for the number of voters recorded each election night, and safeguards to prevent absentee voters from casting more than one ballot.
Bill Glahn of the Center for the American Experiment – a Twin Cities-based conservative public policy organization – said of proponents who talk of safeguards, "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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"Early on in my residency in Minnesota, I went to vote. And I saw this firsthand. I saw somebody doing this – somebody vouching in half a dozen people, and they were laughing and giggling like, 'I can't believe this is working.' And I was infuriated seeing this."
Some Minnesota lawmakers have taken issue with voter verification policies at the state level, with the subject of illegal immigrants being able to vote – whether through loopholes or otherwise – drawing a contentious exchange during a state House hearing.
Minnesota Elections Director Paul Linnell – a Simon appointee – was challenged on the state’s election security posture during a hearing before the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee.
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State Rep. Patti Anderson, R-Eagan, told Linnell that Minnesota gives driver's licenses to "anyone here – you don’t have to be a citizen," and suggested they may try to register to vote with an incorrect Social Security number and have their registration be considered "incomplete."
"But, if they walk into vote with their driver’s license, does that make them all of a sudden now, OK?"
Linnell replied that the "designation on the roster for someone whose registration had been incomplete if they present the election judge with that acceptable identification document, that would clear the challenge from the roster and they would be permitted to cast a ballot."
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"Well, OK, there’s your problem, potentially," Anderson replied.
Chairwoman Kristen Robbins, R-Maple Grove, summed up the issue as "someone who is not a citizen but who presents a driver’s license at that point in the process could be permitted to vote."
Fox News Digital reached out to Walz for comment.