It turns out that it’s not just Republicans in Minnesota sounding the alarm about fraudulent vote-buying schemes. A Democratic candidate running for Minneapolis city council recently told of her experience with Somali immigrants participating in illegal voting practices. 

The Blaze published a report showing a video of activist and Democratic candidate Saciido Shaie, who is running for local office. She is one of the Somali-Americans living in the city who has come forward to tell of ballot-harvesting, vote-buying, and intimidation tactics used to sway local, state, and federal elections. Many of these individuals have named Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and her campaign as being directly involved in these operations. 

According to The Blaze, “Some have brought evidence to state and federal law enforcement, though little action has been taken.”

Shaie has an extensive political resume in the city. She has served on several state boards and was the Minneapolis DFL fundraising director. In July, she posted a 15-minute video on Facebook and her campaign website stating that while she was not going to suspend her campaign, she would no longer go door-to-door for votes. She said that many of the voters she interacted with expected her to pay $200 for their votes. 

The activist “was angry that local Democrats had taken advantage of so many elderly Somali-American refugees, who, she said, sincerely do not know that vote-buying is a serious federal crime in the United States,” according to The Blaze. She insisted that people who think she is a “snitch” should understand that law enforcement “already know” about the various scams. 

The activist speculated that family members and friends could turn in these individuals if the police show up with evidence of wrongdoing. Shaie insisted that these “terrible things” could bring about the destruction of the Somali-American community. 

In the video, the candidate expresses her frustrations in Somali. The Blaze had the footage translated by two separate translators to ensure accuracy. 

“Somalis, by the way, it seems they are not done with fraud and corruption,” Shaie said. Later in the video, she explains that the actions of these individuals “could possibly bring a lot of problems for the Somali community.” 

She continued:

“The reason being, what we have clearly seen, we have seen first of all the seniors are being confused about the time of the campaign, and how [voting] is supposed to be done in the traditional American system of voting.

We are doing the opposite. In fact, we are doing it like Somalia, and even worse, is how the campaigns are being done.”

Shaie explained that when campaigning, “You will see people who are saying ‘if you need my vote, give me money.’ Terrible things.”

She added, “In reality, the person should choose a person on quality, education, and work performance and even being Somali, but instead the people are fighting over ‘who will give [me] money is who I will give my vote.’ That is what was going on in Somalia.”

The activist lamented this trend, stating that she “didn’t want to talk about this. But I feel it’s become unavoidable to speak out about it.” 

Later in the video, Shaie affirms that she is running on her qualifications alone and refuses to pay for votes. “I will only get my votes based on my qualifications, record, personality, and platform. I will not get involved in that. As long as they want money for a vote, tell them to go back to the people who promised them the $200, and vote for them,” she declared. 

The issue of voter fraud is particularly dangerous in Minnesota, which is a swing state that could have an instrumental role in determining the result of the November election. As The Blaze pointed out, “a few thousand votes in swing-state Minnesota may decide November’s presidential election. 

Unfortunately, it appears that law enforcement isn’t too keen on doing anything about it, so the practice will likely continue. This is yet another indicator that the 2020 election will be contested. If the initial results show a Biden victory, it is likely that Republicans will place greater scrutiny on Minnesota and its issues with voter fraud. 

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Follow me on Twitter: @JeffOnTheRight