MN District 54A race: Election contest lawsuit heads to trial Monday
SHAKOPEE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A civil lawsuit challenging the close election results in Minnesota House District 54A, where human error likely led to 20 ballots going missing, is set to be heard in front of a Scott County judge on Monday morning.
Minnesota election lawsuit
What we know: Incumbent DFL Rep. Brad Tabke won over Republican challenger Aaron Paul in the race for House District 54A, following a hand recount of nearly 22,000 ballots. The canvassing board certified the election results in November, with Tabke winning 10,979 votes to Paul's 10,965 votes — a 14 vote difference.
However, an audit discovered there were 20 missing ballots from Precinct 10 and one for Precinct 12A. It’s believed the 20 missing ballots from the single precinct were likely caused by human error and thrown in the trash, the Scott County Attorney's Office previously reported.
Paul is challenging the results of the election and filed a lawsuit in November, which is set to be heard in front of Scott County Judge Tracy Perzel on Monday morning.
The trial is expected to begin at 9 a.m. and resume on Tuesday, according to court records.
What the election lawsuit says
Dig deeper: The election contest filed in Scott County lists two "undisputed facts" as reasons 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 big picture: The results of the race could determine the balance of the Minnesota House-which is currently split with 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.