The Scott County canvassing board officially certified the results of the Minnesota House of Representatives election in District 54A.
Following a recount which occurred last week, Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, led his Republican opponent, Aaron Paul, by just 15 votes in the race for the Scott County seat. After deliberating over the validity of four challenged ballots, the canvassing board certified the results with Tabke leading by 14 votes.
However, that certification occurred despite an ongoing investigation into ballot discrepancies in two Shakopee precincts.
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. A comprehensive investigation into this situation was initiated as soon as it was identified, which is ongoing.”
That discrepancy was discovered on Nov. 7.
Last Friday, a Scott County spokesperson told Alpha News that “Shakopee Precinct 12A had a one ballot discrepancy; Shakopee P10 had had 20. All of these are within House legislative district 54A.”
After the certification occurred this afternoon, the spokesperson said: “The investigation is ongoing. Any results will be reported through multiple media outlets when available.”
According to Fox 9, Tabke declared victory in the election last Friday after the recount concluded.
“With the results of the hand recount completed, I’m glad to see our victory confirmed,” said Tabke. “Over the last 15 days, many people in Scott County and Shakopee have worked hard to make sure every ballot was counted, and every voter’s voice was heard. I thank all of them for their work and dedication to keeping our elections fair and free.”
Republicans hint at lawsuit
“Until the 21 ballots are accounted for it’s impossible to certify the election and irresponsible for Brad Tabke to be declaring victory. Stay tuned,” said House Republican leader Lisa Demuth just days before the election was certified.
Last week, Demuth said that Republicans “will pursue every legal option available, including a potential election contest, to ensure the integrity of the results in District 54A.”
Jim Schultz, the 2022 GOP nominee for Minnesota attorney general, called for a new election in the district, saying, “When there are 21 missing ballots and one candidate is ahead by a fraction of that, the only answer is that there must be a new election.”
Additionally, the chair of the Scott County GOP sent out an email following the conclusion of the recount, in which he said, “I have been informed that the [House Republican Campaign Committee] attorney will be filing with the courts to stop the certification of the election and ask for a new election. We will know more about this on Monday and will pass along what we know then.”
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 this matter 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.
