MN District 54A race: Republican challenger files election contest lawsuit
A ballot machine. (FOX 9)
SHAKOPEE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A lawsuit challenging the election results in Minnesota House District 54A has been filed after human error likely led to 20 missing ballots.
What we know
A hand recount last week of nearly 22,000 ballots in House District 54A solidified a lead for incumbent Rep. Brad Tabke (DFL-Shakopee) over Republican challenger Aaron Paul. The canvassing board certified the election results last week, with Tabke winning 10,979 votes to Paul's 10,965 votes — a 14 vote difference.
But a mystery over 20 missing ballots prompted the GOP to take action.
Last week, House Republicans said they planned to file an election contest lawsuit in District 54A, with House Republican Speaker-designate Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) saying the lawsuit aims to "protect the integrity of the vote in District 54A with a new election."
"With 20 ballots missing and confirmation from Scott County that they will likely not be recovered, it's impossible to declare a winner with a 14-vote margin. We appreciate the efforts by Scott County to investigate this matter and be transparent about their findings," Demuth said.
What happened to the ballots?
It's believed the 20 missing ballots from a single precinct in Shakopee were thrown out as a result of human error, the Scott County Attorney's Office said last week. There was also one missing ballot from a separate precinct, but that ballot was not the focus of the investigation.
The Scott County Attorney's Office released its preliminary investigation into the ballots, finding they were thrown in the trash, likely caused by human error.
Even if the ballots are found, it's unlikely the county can assure they weren't tampered with, officials said.
READ MORE: Missing ballots in Scott County likely caused by human error: Officials
"The preliminary investigation into the 21-ballot discrepancy hasn’t been determinative thus far, and it appears likely to be the result of human error that occurred during the collection of early absentee ballots at the City of Shakopee. This unfortunate situation resulted in a level of confusion that should not have occurred," said County Attorney Ron Hocevar in a statement last week.
What the lawsuit says
The election contest was filed on Friday in District 54A by Paul against Tabke.
The document, filed in Scott County, lists two "undisputed facts" as reason for the contest:
- "First, following the recent election, Scott County election officials announced that they have irretrievably lost and failed to count 21 ballots cast for the Representative of District 54A-and that 20 of these were unquestionably lawful and validly-cast ballots that Minnesota law required to be counted.
- "Second, after failing to count these 21 ballots, Scott County election officials declared that Rep. Tabke had been re-elected by a margin of 14 votes over Contestant Aaron Paul. In other words: Scott County election officials unlawfully lost and failed to count significantly more ballots than would be needed to change the announced result of the election, meaning at the very least the actual victor is in absolute doubt and at worst the candidate who received fewer votes has been announced as the winner."
Paul is challenging the results of the election, alleging irregularities in the conduct of the election, question of legally cast votes and "deliberate, serious and material violations."
The election contest alleges it is "impossible to rely on canvassed election results to determine which candidate won the Nov. 5 election for House District 54A."
And, as a result, the contest asks the court to declare a vacancy once Tabke's term ends. This "would allow voters to make a clear decision pursuant to Minnesota law governing special elections."
If there ends up being a vacancy in District 54A, Gov. Tim Walz would have to call a special election to fill the seat, according to Minnesota law.
The Minnesota House is currently evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, 67-67.