Minnesota Voter Outreach Director Melanie Hazelip sparked criticism after appearing on Somali television and telling registered voters they could arrive without bringing identification. Her explanation of same-day registration also drew scrutiny from critics who argue Minnesota makes it too easy for ineligible people to enter the system.
The appearance comes amid federal noncitizen-voting prosecutions and questions about the safeguards surrounding voter vouching. Hazelip appeared on Somali TV of Minnesota on October 26th, shortly before the November election. She discussed early voting locations and what viewers would need when arriving to vote. Her instructions covered both people already registered and those seeking to register that day.
For registered voters, Hazelip’s message emphasized how little they needed to bring. She directed viewers toward county offices, city halls and additional locations in larger communities. When discussing unregistered voters, she identified an updated Minnesota ID as one option and referred people without one to other documents listed online.
As Fox News reported, Hazelip said: “If you’re already registered to vote, you don’t need to bring anything with you.” Critics questioned the checks behind those instructions. Retired Navy intelligence officer Phillip C. Parrish argued that citizenship requirements depend too heavily on applicants’ declarations, pointing to state identification issued to noncitizens and Minnesota’s history of public-benefit fraud, according to his remarks reproduced by Breitbart.
The vouching provision allows a registered voter to confirm the residency of up to eight people from the same precinct, according to Minnesota’s registration guidance. James O’Keefe and Cam Higby tested that process at Minneapolis polling locations during the August primary, with Higby wearing a face-covering burqa. In O’Keefe Media Group’s published investigation, one worker explained the voucher’s role by saying, “You’re the ID.” Asked whether eligibility was verified, another answered, “After the fact, yeah.”
O’Keefe and Higby argued that their encounters exposed exploitable weaknesses, although they left without completing registration or casting ballots. Some workers reported suspicious behavior. Reuters reported that Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced charges against both men for unlawful voting and identity theft, alleging they supplied registered voters’ names without permission. The men maintain that they were conducting investigative journalism.
Watch Hazelip explain Minnesota’s voting procedures here:
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The concerns surrounding Hazelip’s remarks also follow federal cases alleging actual noncitizen voting. The Justice Department announced September 30th that ten foreign nationals had been indicted for alleged illegal voting or false citizenship claims, with all having made initial court appearances. The cases concern the 2022 and 2024 general elections and the August 2026 primary. Those pending charges don’t establish the statewide scale of noncitizen voting.
Minnesota has the nation’s largest Somali-origin population, estimated at 76,000 in 2024, Reuters reported. Many defendants in the separate $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme were Somali Americans. The Justice Department reported its 68th conviction in July, following prosecutions involving fabricated meal counts and fraudulent claims for child-nutrition funding.
Separately, Rep. Ilhan Omar faces an investigation into potential immigration fraud involving her family’s paperwork, Reuters reported. Omar denies wrongdoing. Prosecutors said in an October filing that they were still reviewing evidence and hadn’t decided whether to bring charges, The Washington Post reported.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.