A Minnesota voter outreach official has sparked outrage over her election advice to the local Somali community that some suggest illustrates flaws in the state’s system that make it an election integrity nightmare.
Voter Outreach Director Melanie Hazelip went on community media outlet Somali TV to dispense tips to the East African country’s diaspora, telling them that they don’t even need to show up with identification in order to vote and that they are eligible for same-day registration.
BREAKING: MN official Melanie Hazelip just went on Somali TV explaining how Somalis could vote without IDs
They can even register same-day using a STATE ID FROM MINNESOTA
MN famously gives IDs to non-citizens https://t.co/EH1fmAaAzX
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 27, 2026
“If you’re already registered to vote, you don’t need to bring anything with you,” Hazelip said.
“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,” she continued. “As long as you’re registered to vote, you don’t need to bring anything with you.”
Hazelip also told Somalis who want to vote that not being registered isn’t an impediment.
“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,” she advised.
All of what she said may be in accordance with the state’s laws, but it only shows that the extremely lax laws themselves are the problem.
“This is how the system is built. It is not an accident,” wrote retired Navy intelligence Officer Phillip C. Parrish in a post to X.
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.
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.
— Phillip C Parrish (@phillipcparrish) October 27, 2026
“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,” Parrish said. “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,” he added.
Women’s sports rights advocate Riley Gaines suggested that Hazelip’s advice is effectively a commercial for the SAVE America Act, which has been stalled for months in the GOP-controlled Senate.
This is why passing the SAVE America Act is crucial.
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) October 27, 2026
The Minnesota Secretary of State’s office told Fox News Digital that 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.”
“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,” the office said in a statement. “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.”
Democrats are clearly hoping that a big turnout from the Somali community will be their ticket to victory in key races, including hijab-wearing Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for Senate and embattled Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in her re-election bid, which comes amid a federal probe into whether she fraudulently obtained her U.S. citizenship.
Bill Glahn, a policy fellow at the Minnesota-based conservative think tank the Center of the American Experiment, criticized Hazelip for what she left out, telling Fox News Digital that, “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.”
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