An investigation into ballot discrepancies in Scott County is still ongoing, but preliminary conclusions released today from the county attorney state that 20 ballots were likely thrown away without being counted.
Earlier this month, the county announced that its elections manager “identified a discrepancy in the count of ballots, in which 21 more absentee records than ballots were counted in the City of Shakopee.”
That discrepancy was discovered on Nov. 7 and an investigation into the matter began immediately.
County staff eventually determined that 20 of the ballot records lacking corresponding ballots were located in Shakopee Precinct 10, while the remaining one was located in Shakopee Precinct 12.
Both of those precincts are located in Minnesota House of Representatives District 54A.
Just two days ago, the Scott County canvassing board certified the election results in House District 54A after a recount showed Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, leading his Republican opponent, Aaron Paul, by just 14 votes in the race for the Scott County legislative seat.
Today, Scott County Attorney Ron Hocevar released preliminary conclusions from the investigation into the ballot discrepancy.
According to those preliminary conclusions, 20 absentee ballots in Precinct 10 were “properly accepted” for counting, should have been counted, but were not counted. Additionally, the preliminary conclusions state that those 20 ballots were likely “thrown away” and “likely will not be recovered.”
Even if the ballots were found, “it is unlikely that their chain of custody can be proven to assure they have not been tampered with,” added Hocevar.
Meanwhile, the single ballot discrepancy in Precinct 12 was “not pursued” after county staff “noted that it is not uncommon for one voter to check in and not vote,” the county attorney wrote in a letter about the investigation’s preliminary conclusions.
“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 Hocevar in a statement. “In the interest of full transparency, we have included a link to the information provided to the attorneys for both candidates this morning. It’s important to note that the investigation is ongoing and we hope that more information will be forthcoming.”
Even before the preliminary conclusions of the investigation were released, Republicans had already announced that they would file an election contest in House District 54A. After Scott County published the preliminary conclusions, House Speaker-desginate Lisa Demuth, the leader of the House Republicans, released a statement.
“Today’s news confirms why we will be seeking an election contest to protect the integrity of the vote in District 54A with a new election,” said Demuth. “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.”
A press release from the House Republicans states that the election contest lawsuit may be filed as early as Friday.
If Tabke were to occupy the seat, the House would be tied: 67 DFLers and 67 Republicans. If Paul were to occupy the seat, the Republicans would have a 68-66 majority. As such, the outcome of the election contest lawsuit will have major ramifications for Minnesota’s state government.
This is a developing story.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
