Conservative activist James O’Keefe posted a video on X that he says was recorded at a polling place in Dearborn, Michigan. In the clip, an election worker speaking Arabic appears to tell an undercover journalist who said he was not a U.S. citizen that he could vote in some contests, just not for president.
According to the English translation shown in O’Keefe’s post, the worker says: “Only for U.S. president you can’t vote, but the others you can.” When the operative asks if he could vote for Abdul El-Sayed, the worker replies, “Yeah,” per the video.
What federal law says
O’Keefe cited 18 U.S.C. § 611, which states it is unlawful for any noncitizen “to vote in any election held solely or in part for the purpose of electing a candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, [or] Member of the House of Representatives.”
The race at issue
The Western Journal article names Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers as the candidates in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, for the seat it says will be open with Democratic Sen. Gary Peters’ upcoming retirement.
Reach and reaction
The Western Journal reported that O’Keefe’s post drew nearly 300,000 views in about an hour. The outlet also highlighted replies criticizing the worker and referencing O’Keefe’s past legal troubles, including one user who wrote, “You’ll probably get charged for exposing this as well!”
What’s unconfirmed
Warren County Minute has not independently verified the video, the translation, the timing, or the full context of the exchange. The poll worker in the clip was not identified in the source article, and no responses from Dearborn or Michigan election officials were included.
