A nonprofit organization in New York City has been caught on camera advising a supposed noncitizen to illegally vote in the mayoral election for Zohran Mamdani.According to footage released by O’Keefe Media Group (OMG), an undercover journalist posing as an unregistered immigrant approached the nonprofit’s director, asking how to cast a ballot — and who to vote for.
The director allegedly explained how the journalist could navigate the system to vote despite not being a citizen and hinted at which candidate to choose, saying he should vote for the one whose name starts with “M.”
James O’Keefe, founder of the undercover investigative journalism organization, posted the video to X, with the caption: “La Jornada Executive Director Pedro Rodriguez Tells Undercover OMG Journalist Posing as an Unregistered Migrant to ‘Vote for the Guy That Starts with ‘M’ – Despite 501(c)(3) Regulation Prohibiting Political Activity by Tax-Exempt Organizations. Rodriguez Acknowledges Knowing the Individual Is ‘Not Registered’ Before Advising him How to Vote – a Potential Violation of Federal & State Election Laws.”
It’s illegal to vote in New York City elections as a non-citizen, but the voter ID mechanisms are not particularly strong, either.
The video shows the director of the nonprofit “La Jornada” – which boasts a focus on “assisting migrants with their paperwork and legal needs” – talking to the journalist posing as the immigrant.
Mike Casey, the correspondent, told Rodriguez, “Yes, I’m an immigrant. They sent me here to vote. I was recommended to come here to find information to vote. I was given two, dos locations. Forgive me, I am, no Espanol.”
Rodriguez responded, “No, this is perfect for me,” before asking the undercover journalist when he registered to vote.
“I did not, I didn’t sign anything. They just told me to come here to vote,” Casey said.
“You’re not registered? Okay,” the director says. OMG reported that even though the journalist posing as the unregistered immigrant was not in a legal voting status, he was nonetheless instructed to go vote at a local community college.
“It’s three guys. The guy that starts with ‘M,’” Rodriguez instructed.
The only candidate in the race was Zohran Mamdani, who wound up blowing out his opponents to become mayor-elect on Tuesday.
When O’Keefe and his team later confronted Rodriguez, the nonprofit’s director, he denied ever instructing the undercover journalist to vote for Mamdani — despite the fact that the reporter had clearly posed as an illegal immigrant in the recorded exchange.
Mamdani, a self-described “democratic socialist,” is now set to run New York City, the financial capital of America and, arguably, of the free world.
Just the News has reportedly obtained internal documents from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) outlining how the group’s New York City chapter, to which Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani belongs, plans to pressure him into implementing sweeping anti-Israel policies throughout city governance and public life.
Mamdani, who defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa on Tuesday, has long been a fixture in the DSA, where he’s listed as one of nine “New York State Socialists in Office.” The organization, which is decidedly anti-Israel, played a key role in his campaign, backing him in both the Democratic primary and the general election.
During the mayoral race, Mamdani attempted to downplay his ties to the group’s more radical and revolutionary platform — and, according to Politico, the NYC DSA branch actively helped him do so by providing public cover to make his campaign appear more moderate than it truly was.
According to the “Socialists in Office” website, the group is composed of “DSA-endorsed elected officials who work together in the New York State Legislature to advance a socialist vision for working-class people across our state” — and among those featured is Mamdani.
