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Omar allies accused of illegal ballot harvesting; Minneapolis police investigating

The video by Project Veritas, which quickly went viral on social media, depicts a ballot harvester who reportedly said he was paid to obtain ballots.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Right-wing activist group Project Veritas on Sunday alleged that individuals tied to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) are engaged in illegal ballot harvesting in Minneapolis.

The video by Project Veritas, which quickly went viral on social media, depicts a ballot harvester who reportedly said he was paid to obtain ballots. It also shows an additional alleged harvester who brags about the number of ballots he’s obtained.

The number of ballots a third-party can hold on behalf of others has been a point of contention between Minnesotan Democrats and Republicans.

The Minnesota Supreme Court recently permitted mail-in and absentee voting without a three-person limit on the number of ballots one person can collect.

But the most explosive claims come from a person who claims to be a former campaign worker. He allegedly told the group that Omar’s team engaged in a cash-for-votes scheme, paying voters for their ballots.

“It’s an open secret,” Omar Jamal, a local community leader, reportedly told the group.

“She [Omar] will do anything that she can do to get elected, and she has hundreds of people on the streets doing that.”

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On Monday, President Trump posted an article about the allegations on his Twitter account, along with a call for Omar to be investigated.

“This is totally illegal,” he wrote. “Hope that the U.S. Attorney in Minnesota has this, and other of her many misdeeds, under serious review??? If not, why not???”

In response, Omar posted a meme mocking Trump.

“The Minneapolis Police Department is aware of the allegations of vote harvesting,” the police said in statement.

“We are in the process of looking into the validity of those statements. No further information is available at this time on this.”

Speaking to Newsweek, Omar’s communication manager Jeremy Slevin slammed the allegations.

“The amount of truth to this story is equal to the amount Donald Trump paid in taxes of ten out of the last fifteen years: zero,” he said.

“And amplifying a coordinated right-wing campaign to delegitimize a free and fair election this fall undermines our democracy.”