Minnesota Republican Party launches recall election effort targeting all House Democrats boycotting the legislative session
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Republican Party launched a recall election effort this week targeting all House Democrats who are continuing to boycott session, which is now in its fourth week.
The Minnesota Constitution paves the way for recall elections. In a news conference Tuesday, party officials said they've already begun collecting the requisite number of signatures in half of the 66 DFL-held districts to kick-start what is a long, laborious process. They intend to launch petitions in the remaining districts so they can submit all the documents to the secretary of state's office next week.
"We were hopeful that common sense would prevail and that these lawmakers would realize the gravity of their actions and that this recall wouldn't be necessary. But here we are," said Alex Plechash, chairman of the GOP. "Minnesota is in crisis."
State law requires 25 voters to sign on to the proposed recall petition before it is submitted and the process begins. In some districts, the number of voters has far exceeded that, said Jennifer DeJournett, executive director of the party.
The secretary of state's office reviews the petitions and if it determines they're valid, the Supreme Court then determines if they meet the constitutional and statutory grounds for recall. The process from start to finish could take as long as 10 months, DeJournett added, but the party is confident their petitions pass muster and will advance.
The constitution states the grounds for recall are "serious malfeasance or nonfeasance during the term of office in the performance of the duties of the office or conviction during the term of office of a serious crime." Officials argue the off-site secret swearing in ceremony of DFL lawmakers before session amounted to malfeasance and the failure of Democrats to show up to the capitol so far this year is nonfeasance.
"At the end of the day, Minnesotans deserve representation in their legislature. They deserve legislators who will go to work, and I am looking forward to Minnesota speaking loud and clear, telling their legislators to get to work," DeJournett told reporters.
Democrats have maintained their boycott is a parliamentary tactic to deny quorum, so Republicans don't take control of the chamber with the one-seat advantage they have — at least for now until a special election for a Roseville seat likely happens in March. Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday is expected to formally schedule that election.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the DFL Party characterized the recall effort as "desperate" and condemned Republicans for refusing to say whether they would unseat DFL Rep. Brad Tabke whom a judge determined the valid winner of a narrow House race. The issue is a sticking point for Democrats, they've said, that's part of the reason they aren't showing up to the state capitol.
"Republicans have wasted weeks trying to overturn an election that they lost so that they can seize power that Minnesotans didn't give them at the ballot box. Today's stunt shows how desperate they have become after the courts struck down their unlawful power grab and ruled that Rep. Tabke was duly elected by Shakopee voters," the DFL party spokesperson said.
There have been 14 recall petitions filed in the last two decades for state lawmakers and constitutional officeholders like governor and secretary of state, but all of them have been dismissed by the Minnesota Supreme Court before there could be any recall election, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
"The Republican recall effort is yet another attempt to create chaos and division to cover up their efforts to ignore Minnesota voters, steal elections they didn't win, and seize control of the House. In November, the voters made it clear that they wanted a government that works together to get things done," a spokesperson for the House DFL caucus campaign said in a statement. "Democrats will remain focused on serving their constituents in their districts until Republicans agree to honor the will of the voters and confirm they will seat Representative Brad Tabke."
The state's highest court will hear another case related to the protracted power dispute in the House on Thursday. In the meantime, leaders in both parties are still negotiating a path forward for how the chamber will operate in the event it returns to a tie after the special election next month. Right now, Republicans have a one-seat edge due to that vacancy, after the DFL winner didn't take the oath of office because a judge determined didn't live in the district.
"This is not a conditional offer job where you get to decide that, 'I'm only going to serve under the circumstances and in the environment that I would prefer to serve under,'" said Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, at the news conference Tuesday. "The fact the matter is, the Curtis Johnson seat was invalidated because he did live in the district that lost them the tie. We are in the majority."