In win for GOP, Supreme Court orders Hennepin County to comply with ballot board election law

"The Court’s order made clear that there is no ambiguity in the law—Hennepin County cannot bypass the Party’s list of election judges," said Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hann.

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James Dickey, an attorney with the Upper Midwest Law Center, which represents Minnesota Voters Alliance and individual petitioners. (Alpha News)

Just hours after a unanimous Minnesota Supreme Court ruling ordering Hennepin County to exhaust the official Republican list of election judges to ensure party balance, potential GOP judges woke up to an email from Hennepin County Elections, seeking their availability for absentee ballot board positions.

Alpha News has obtained a copy of this Wednesday morning email to a potential election judge, marking the county’s first significant step toward complying with the court’s Tuesday order.

The email asks potential judges to serve in key shifts ranging from an hour-long slot on Halloween to a 14-hour Election Day shift on Nov. 5.

A major victory for Minnesota GOP in election oversight

The court’s decision is being touted as a major victory for the Minnesota GOP, reinforcing party balance requirements under state law.

“This is a huge win for election integrity in Minnesota,” stated GOP Chairman David Hann. “Minnesotans expect those administering our elections to comply with election law. The Court’s order made clear that there is no ambiguity in the law—Hennepin County cannot bypass the Party’s list of election judges. All counties in Minnesota should be on notice. I urge [Secretary of State Steve] Simon and all election officials to follow the law and ensure transparency in and compliance with our election processes.”

The ruling stems from a petition by the Minnesota Voters Alliance and three petitioners represented by the Upper Midwest Law Center, as well as the Republican Party of Minnesota, who alleged in a press conference that the county had neglected to appoint judges from the Republican Party list to the absentee ballot board, favoring other sources instead.

Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson said the governing body of the Hennepin County Absentee Ballot Board “must appoint election judges from the Republican Party List and may appoint Republican-affiliated election judges not appearing on that list only after it has exhausted the candidates on the list.”

“To exhaust the Party Lists for a county absentee ballot board, a county must first attempt to appoint all potential election judges on the Party Lists who reside within the county. But respondents appointed election judges to the Hennepin County Absentee Ballot Board from outside the Party Lists without first contacting Hennepin County residents on the lists. Because respondents here failed to comply with this statutory duty, we grant the petition in part and order appropriate relief to correct this error,” she wrote.

Hennepin County has until Nov. 1 to comply.

County defends actions, claims list exhaustion as court reinforces protocol

Hennepin County Auditor Daniel Rogan claimed that cities within the county had previously “exhausted” the GOP list, requiring additional recruitment from other sources.

“This year, Hennepin County cities exhausted the list and needed to recruit thousands of additional election judges who are not on the major political party list,” Rogan said in a statement to KSTP following the ruling. “Based on the Supreme Court’s order, the county cannot rely on exhaustion by its cities but must contact residents on the major political party list directly. Hennepin County will send an email to individuals on the major political party list tomorrow to recruit election judges for the county absentee ballot board.”

However, Hann disputed Rogan’s claim.

“We submitted over 1,500 names in Hennepin County alone, none of whom were chosen by the Hennepin County Absentee Ballot Board,” Hann asserted at a press conference earlier this month, calling it “a direct violation of state statute.”

According to the Upper Midwest Law Center, “Hennepin County admitted that it claimed to ‘exhaust’ the Party List by merely forwarding it to its constituent cities for their use for election day—as opposed to absentee ballot board—election judges.”

“All Minnesotans benefit from knowing that whichever party they affiliate with, counties and cities evaluating absentee ballots must have representation from their party in that process. All counties and cities across Minnesota should take notice: you must exhaust both parties’ election judge lists when constituting your ballot boards,” said UMLC senior counsel James Dickey.

Hennepin County already accepted hundreds of thousands of ballots 

On Tuesday, Hennepin County Elections reported that 263,435 absentee ballots have been received by Hennepin County, and 209,306 of those have been accepted by the absentee ballot board.

According to the Minnesota GOP, that ballot board has not been in compliance with the law as it lacked any election judges appointed from the Republican Party’s election judge list.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

 

Jenna Gloeb

Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.