After ballots were thrown out in close Minnesota House race, bill proposes fixes to prevent accident from happening again
A proposal advancing in the Minnesota Legislature includes changes to clarify the absentee ballot process after officials in Shakopee last fall accidentally threw ballots in a close race in the trash, prompting a court case challenging the results.
DFL Rep. Brad Tabke won his district by 14 votes but there were 20 missing absentee ballots from one precinct, which sparked controversy. An investigation by Scott County determined the ballots were never processed and were likely thrown away in their secrecy envelopes — one of two envelopes voters sign during the absentee voting process.
The proposal, brought forward initially by Tabke and included in a larger bill, adds clarifying steps to the absentee ballot process and requires elections officials to document any discrepancy while counting the ballots in the incident logs they already are putting together as part of their job.
The absentee ballot boards, which review the ballots and count them, also must keep all ballot envelopes until after the period during which voters and candidates can challenge election results is over.
"It's super important, especially for the voters. It's important that we make sure that everyone knows that their vote counts and that their vote is being processed correctly, no matter where you are at in the state," Tabke said. "The vast majority of folks were doing this all correctly. This is a very specific problem in Shakopee that we just don't want to see happen again to cause the confusion and cause the problems."
The Minnesota House on Thursday approved the provisions in a bipartisan state government and elections package.
Michael Stalberger, an elections administrator in Blue Earth County who is a member of the Minnesota Association of County Officers, said during a March committee hearing that for the most part, elections officials are already implementing the proposed changes, but putting them in statute adds a layer of transparency.
He called retention of all envelopes a "fail safe."
"We're always looking for ways to address any technical inefficiencies that are in election law, ways that we can make the process work better for elections administrators and voters alike," he said.
The legislature is racing against the clock to get all of its work done over the next two weeks. Lawmakers must adjourn May 19 to avoid a special session and in the past few days and days to come, the House and Senate will approve large budget bills focusing on specific issues, like transportation, public safety, education and more.
Then small panels of lawmakers in the House and Senate will meet to hash out differences in their individual budget plans. These proposed election-related changes need to be approved by both chambers before they would become law.
Legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz have been in meetings to come to agreement on the top line budget numbers that will set the stage for end-of-session negotiations.