Minnesota Republicans sue to force election rerun in tight House race where 20 ballots are missing
MINNEAPOLIS– Minnesota Republicans filed a lawsuit Monday to try to force a replay of a state House race in which the incumbent Democrat won by 14 votes — but in which investigators concluded election workers likely destroyed 20 valid absentee ballots after failing to count them.
It’s a race that could determine the balance of power in the Minnesota House, where leaders from both parties are working out the details of a power-sharing deal that currently projects a 67-67 tie when the Legislature convenes next month. A Republican victory in a special election could shift that balance toward a one-vote Republican majority.
Democrats have a one-vote majority in the Senate. So regardless of the outcome of the contentious race, Minnesota will return to some degree of divided government in 2025, after two years of full Democratic control.
“The actions of Scott County election officials constitute a serious violation not only of Minnesota election law, but also of the public’s trust in our election system,” the lawsuit said.
Democratic Rep. Brad Tabke was declared the winner of the swing District 54A race in suburban Shakopee last week by 14 votes, following a recount and the official investigation. But Scott County election officials had previously said, following a post-election audit, that they could not account for 21 absentee ballots in the precinct southwest of Minneapolis.
County Attorney Ronald Hocevar reported last Wednesday that his preliminary investigation found that election workers most likely threw away at least 20 of those absentee ballots, and that they may have been in a paper bale that a recycler had already sent away for shredding. He wrote that they “will most likely not be recovered,” and that even if they are found, it is unlikely that an unbroken chain of custody can prove that they have not been tampered with.
In Minnesota, absentee voters fill out their ballots, place them in a security envelope to protect their privacy, and then place that envelope in a signature envelope with identifying information on the outside so election workers can check those ballots. Once counting begins, the idea is for the ballots to be removed from the security envelopes and tabulated.
The county attorney concluded that the 20 ballots, all from the same precinct, were properly accepted for counting on Oct. 17, but “most likely were never removed from their secrecy envelopes” and were likely still inside when those envelopes were thrown away. . The investigation did not determine what happened with the 21st ballot, which was cast in a different district.
This isn’t the first time in recent years that absentee ballots have been lost.
When a small number of military ballots ended up in the trash in Pennsylvania in 2020, President Donald Trump said the case was repeatedly seized to support his claims of fraud in the run-up to that election. After investigating, authorities discovered that a temporary election worker had accidentally thrown seven military ballots in the trash and mishandled two others. The ballots were later removed from a dumpster and counted, and the employee was fired.
Minnesota House Republicans filed a lawsuit Monday on behalf of Republican candidate Aaron Paul, asking a court to invalidate the results and declare Tabke’s seat vacant. They said the “undisputed facts” make it impossible to rely on the results.
Current House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring said new elections are the best way to protect the integrity of the process.
“We appreciate Scott County’s efforts to investigate this matter and be transparent about their findings,” Demuth said in a statement.
But Democrats in the House of Representatives said they believe they will win the lawsuit.
“Representative. Brad Tabke won the election in District 54A according to the election night count and recount,” current Speaker Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park said in a statement. “We expect Representative Tabke to prevail again in the election battle.”
Republicans also filed a lawsuit last month over another House race, in the suburb of Roseville, where they claim the winner does not live in the district. Democrats deny that, and the district is heavily Democratic, so this case is unlikely to change the balance of power even if a special election occurs.
___
Associated Press writer Christina Almeida Cassidy contributed to this story from Atlanta.