The Minnesota Supreme Court has sided with Republicans regarding a dispute over election judges who were improperly appointed to handle mail-in ballots.
The high court ruled that Hennepin County election officials unlawfully appointed election judges who review absentee ballots, KSTP-TV reported.
The court sided with the GOP claim that it didn’t “appoint any election judges from the Republican Party of Minnesota’s dedicated list” as the law stipulates.
The Hennepin County Absentee Ballot Board was given until Friday to comply with Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson’s ruling.
The board “must appoint election judges from the Republican Part List and may appoint Republican-affiliated election judges not appearing on that list only after it has exhausted the candidates on the list.”
Hennepin County Elections Director Ginny Gelms claimed that they went outside of the list to find judges with experience in signature verification, CBS News reported.
She believed this was in line with the aim of the statute.
“We had believed that we were doing what we were supposed to do according to the law,” Gelms promised.
“But I respect the Supreme Court, and we’re going to do what they told us to do.”
The decision was a win for the original petitioners, including the Republican Party of Minnesota, Minnesota Voters Alliance, Richard Sutter, Marlene Stoick, and Karen Attia.
The legal filing, dated October 15, named Gelms, Hennepin County, and county auditor Daniel Rogan.
Rogan claimed that the county had “exhausted the list” of GOP judges before appointing the ones at the center of the controversy.
In a statement, Rogan noted that the court disagreed with the state on that point but none of the others in the complaint.
“Today, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued an order on narrow grounds, holding that Republican-affiliated election judges may not be appointed to the Hennepin County Absentee Ballot Board until Hennepin County has exhausted the Republican Party List,” Rogan said in a statement.
“The Court denied all of the petitioners’ other claims for relief.
“Importantly, the Court recognized the county’s ballot board was operating with party balance,” he added.
“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.
“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,” Rogan’s statement said.
Certifying absentee or vote-by-mail ballots has become a major issue as the method becomes more common.
Matching signatures and ensuring people casting ballots can legally do so has proven difficult.
However, recent attacks on ballot drop boxes highlight another vulnerability when the election process goes beyond in-person voting.
A spate of attacks on drop boxes has destroyed hundreds of votes in the Pacific Northwest, CNN reported.
Police are looking for a suspect who has set fire to a total of three boxes in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington.
Some of the ballots have been recovered, while others are being sent a replacement.
@ClarkCoWA Auditor Greg Kimsey has released photos and updated information on the damaged ballots from the Oct. 28 drop box fire. Elections staff have been able to identify 488 damaged ballots retrieved from the ballot box. pic.twitter.com/53cyLFNFqK
— Clark County WA (@ClarkCoWA) October 30, 2024
With all the potential pitfalls and proven problems with absentee and vote-by-mail, it’s time to reconsider whether expanding access to this type of voting was wise.
Republicans notched a win in Minnesota, but it’s only one of countless problems with the system.
