James O'Keefe was shown in an undercover video falsely identifying himself as William Pomeranz to election officials during Minnesota primary voting. The video drew more than 7 million views and put the activists involved under legal scrutiny in Minnesota.
William Pomeranz said he first learned on Friday that his identity was being misrepresented online. He said he still got to vote that evening without a problem, after poll workers reported the issue.
William Pomeranz and Minnesota voting
“I actually had a student contact me that had showed me what was online about my identity being misrepresented. So, that was pretty much a shock. I found out on Friday,” Pomeranz said. “Kudos to the poll workers. They reported it afterwards, and frankly, I got to vote that evening without a problem. So, you know, the voting process, in my mind, worked.”
The real voter’s account matters because the video did not involve a generic test case. It used an actual Minnesota voter’s name, then spread quickly online as the clip circulated far beyond the polling place.
Citizen Justice League operation
The video was part of an operation by the Citizen Justice League, which said it was testing Minnesota’s 53-year-old voter voucher law. That law is meant to help people who have just moved to Minnesota vote, but it does not allow someone to impersonate a real registered voter.
Steve Simon said, “As I read the law, you can't impersonate another registered voter, and that's exactly what they appear to have filmed themselves doing.” David Schultz said, “It's illegal in the state of Minnesota to impersonate another voter, and this is apparently what O'Keefe did.”
Minnesota law and penalties
The video shows activists using fake accents and what they called Muslim costumes, with James O'Keefe falsely identifying himself as William Pomeranz. Under Minnesota law, impersonating a voter at a polling place is a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.
That is the practical takeaway for anyone watching the clip unfold online: the stated test of voter voucher rules collided with conduct that state officials and a constitutional law professor described as voter impersonation. CBS News said it reached out to the Citizen Justice League and was waiting to hear back.
The question now is whether prosecutors move on the conduct caught on video, including O'Keefe’s role in it. The record so far shows a fast-moving online clip, a real voter whose name was used, and a Minnesota law that treats impersonation at the polls as a felony.
