MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Supreme Court has directed election officials in Hennepin County, the state’s most populous area, to revert to a Republican Party-provided list for selecting members of a board that is responsible for validating absentee ballots.
The ruling, issued late Tuesday, mandates that Hennepin County officials appoint election judges exclusively from this party-supplied list prior to allowing cities within the county to choose from it and deplete the available pool. The court has set a deadline for compliance by Friday.
Previously, the absentee ballot board in the county had been composed of four Democrats and a single Republican.
In-person early voting and absentee voting started on September 20 in Minnesota. Chief Justice Natalie Hudson’s order did not annul any of the over 263,000 absentee ballots already submitted to the county, with more than 209,000 of these ballots having already been approved by the ongoing review board.
The Minnesota Republican Party, along with the Minnesota Voters Alliance, had requested the court to act after discovering that none from the party’s list of over 1,500 volunteers had been appointed to the Hennepin County absentee ballot board. Volunteers were sourced from counties across Minnesota, and their names were forwarded to the Secretary of State’s Office earlier this year. The Democratic Party had also submitted its own list, and it was intended that election judges would be appointed from both rosters.
The absentee ballot board consists of five election judges along with several deputy county auditors. Hennepin County officials noted in a court filing that 40 out of 45 cities in the county appoint their own election judges and have established their individual absentee ballot boards.
Local authorities argued that the jurisdictions exhausted their available election judge lists before Hennepin County filled its absentee ballot board. The county faced the task of filling over 6,000 election judge positions. They believed they acted under the authority of state law in appointing members who were not included on the state’s submitted list.
Secretary of State Steve Simon contended in a filing that Hennepin County had indeed followed state law, but the Supreme Court countered, asserting that the county must begin its appointments utilizing the names submitted by the political parties, although it did not specify how many judges from each party should be appointed.
The county indicated that the absentee ballot board is responsible for processing and counting all absentee ballots received via U.S. mail, in-person absentee voting at the Minneapolis county courthouse, or ballots submitted to communities without their own boards.
David Hann, the chair of the state GOP, labeled the court’s decision on Tuesday as a significant victory for election integrity in Minnesota, emphasizing the need for all counties to heed this directive.
“The Court’s ruling unequivocally states that Hennepin County cannot bypass the party’s list of election judges,” Hann noted in a statement.
Hennepin County Auditor Daniel Rogan informed that the county would reach out to individuals on the Republican list through emails on Thursday, seeking election judges for the absentee ballot board. He clarified that the Supreme Court’s ruling was narrowly focused and acknowledged that the board maintained adequate party balance in accordance with state regulations.
Earlier this month, Hann and other Republican officials commented that they had not identified any other counties that deviated from the correct procedure regarding absentee ballot boards, though they did not eliminate the chance of issues arising elsewhere. They focused on Hennepin County due to its size.
The election officials in Hennepin County faced scrutiny after a courier vehicle intended for collecting absentee ballots was left unattended with its trunk open outside Edina City Hall for several minutes earlier this month. However, the county stated that surveillance footage confirmed no tampering occurred with the sealed ballots inside, ensuring all ballots were accounted for and no additional ones were introduced.
As a result of the incident, the courier company terminated the driver’s employment.