Republicans file lawsuit to challenge the House 54A election result
As expected, Republican Aaron Paul, the challenger in the House 54A (Shakopee-area) election last month, filed a court challenge to the published result.
Officially, the Democratic incumbent state Rep. Brad Tabke “won” by 14 votes out of almost 22,000 cast. With 21 votes verified as missing and 20 of those believed to have been destroyed prior to official counting, the actual outcome of the race is unknowable with certainty.
A recent recount conducted by Scott County in the 54A race, by definition, omitted the missing votes.
If current statewide results hold, the MN House of Representatives is tied at 67-67 between the two parties.
Paul is requesting a do-over, a special election to fill what would be a vacant seat at the end of the year. A victory by the challenger in a court-ordered special election would give the Republicans a narrow majority in the chamber.
On Monday, the state canvassing board met and “certified” more election results. The MN Secretary of State issued a press release, saying:
On December 2, Secretary of State Steve Simon convened the State Canvassing Board to amend the 2024 General Election Canvassing Report to include new vote totals for House District 54A as certified by the Scott County Canvassing Board.
So, the state board met and “certified” amended results that had been previously “certified” (as amended) by a county board that openly admits more than enough votes are missing to change the result. It raises the question as to what, exactly, is being “certified” in these exercises.
In his press release, Sec. Simon goes on to discuss recounts in house seats 14B (St. Cloud) and 48B (Chanhassen), where, coincidentally, the Democratic incumbents also prevailed over their Republican challengers by tiny margins.
In related news, a lawsuit challenging the residency of the Democratic winner of House Seat 40B (Roseville) received its first court hearing yesterday.
The legislature convenes its 2025 session on January 14.