Recount confirms likely DFL win, tie in MN House
Scott County Government Center. (FOX 9)
SHAKOPEE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A recount Thursday apparently will not change the balance of power in the Minnesota state House.
As it stands, the House will be split evenly between Republicans and Democrats in January.
But just 14 votes separated the GOP from winning one more seat.
Scott County election officials recounted almost 22,000 ballots by hand and under close scrutiny.
READ MORE: Mystery cloaks MN House race as recount approaches
Recount likely confirms DFL win
The results still aren’t final and there's still a question about whether all the ballots are counted, but after the recount, Democrat Brad Tabke appears to have an insurmountable lead, up one to 15.
"Representative Tabke sits at 10,980. Mr. Paul sits at 10,965 with four ballots outstanding — four challenges," said Scott County Election Chief Julie Hanson.
The recount in House District 54A started with carts carrying boxes full of ballots wheeled into the room and ended with the race just about wrapped up.
Ballots still under challenge
Four challenged ballots are included in the preliminary results announced late Thursday afternoon, so the final numbers could still change, but not enough to swing a 15-vote race away from DFL incumbent Brad Tabke to Republican challenger Aaron Paul.
Tabke gained seven votes Thursday while Paul gained six as judges counted ballots on which the voter may have incorrectly marked their choices.
Missing ballot mystery?
But there’s still one last hope for the GOP in this race.
There’s still some mystery about 20 people who checked in to vote but whose ballots don’t appear in the totals.
At this point, the county elections office has no explanation.
"What I can tell you is we are still looking into that," Hanson said. "We are still investigating."
The county canvassing board meets on Monday to decide those challenges and confirm the totals.
After that, GOP lawyers will decide whether the mystery is enough to file a lawsuit.