Emmer for Governor, Republican Party of Minnesota Petition Minnesota Supreme Court to Ensure Number of Total Votes Matches Total Voters

Concerns have been raised over more votes than voters

St. Paul– Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Tony Sutton and Deputy Chairman Michael Brodkorb today announced that Emmer for Governor and the state Party have filed a petition with the Minnesota Supreme Court asking the court to ensure that reconciliation has occurred in each of Minnesota’s 4,136 precincts as required by Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. § 204C.20). The petition includes affidavits from election judges throughout Minnesota who prepared or observed preparation of summary statements for their precinct and did not witness election judges count the names of individuals signing the polling roster or the names of individuals who registered to vote on Election Day.

“The most basic right of our election system is one person, one vote. We cannot have a system that allows more votes to be counted than legal voters. After the 2008 election, estimates varied that there were between 17,000 and 30,000 or more ballots than total voters. In 2009, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie pledged to match voter registration with canvassing board results to within a thousand. Ritchie has had two years to address this issue and yet we’re receiving reports today from election judges stating they did not reconcile the ballots cast with the number of signatures on the polling roster on Election Night 2010. These reports raise concerns about the instructions and written guides given to election judges by the Secretary of State’s office as to the statutorily required reconciliation procedures for Election Day but more importantly, raise serious questions about the integrity of the result of the election.

“Phantom votes have no place in the final vote count. There is a clear statutory remedy that must be followed, namely, that excess phantom ballots are removed from the certified vote count. Until reconciliation has been completed in each precinct, the legislatively mandated recount cannot begin. Today's petition is of course within the legal framework of the canvassing process and the recount. We are seeking the court’s assurance that only legally cast ballots are counted. The next governor should be seated on January 3 with an outcome that has followed the letter of the law,” said Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Tony Sutton.

“It is incumbent upon our election system to count each and every legally cast ballot and not include phantom ballots in the vote count. Our petition today is simply asking the Supreme Court to confirm that the number of votes matches the total number of voters on Election Day, as required by state law and that election officials follow the clear statutory remedy for the removal of phantom votes before the results are certified,” added Republican Party of Minnesota Deputy Chairman Michael Brodkorb.

Click here to read Minn. Stat. § 204C.20

Click here to read the filing

In 2008: Estimates Varied that there were Between 17,000 and 30,000 More Ballots Than Total Voters

Estimated 17,000 more ballots than total voters. "Kiffmeyer is 'absolutely sure' that Ritchie's efforts to eliminate voting regulations ensured Franken's victory. 'The first thing he did when he got into office was to dismantle the ballot reconciliation program we started. Under that program districts are required to check that the number of ballots issued by matching them with the number of ballots cast,' she said, ‘that way we know immediately that the vote count is accurate.' But that isn't what happened, she said. 'We now have 17,000 more ballots cast than there are voters who voted and no way to determine what went wrong. Why anyone would eliminate that basic check, I don't know,’ she said." (Ed Barnes, “States' Secretaries of State Are Tipping Balance of Power,” FOX News, February 1, 2010)

Estimated 30,000 more ballots than total voters. "He said the goal was to match voter registration and the certified canvassing board totals within 1,000 names. ‘You'll never get a perfect correlation between the two,' he said. 'We were at 40,000 in April. We're at about 30,000 now.'" (Patricia Lopez, “Ritchie is sued over voter-registration records,” Star Tribune, May 28, 2009)

In 2009: Ritchie Pledged to Match Voter Registration with Canvassing Board Results to within a Thousand

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie pledges to match voter registration and canvassing board result to within a thousand. "He said the goal was to match voter registration and the certified canvassing board totals within 1,000 names. 'You'll never get a perfect correlation between the two,' he said. 'We were at 40,000 in April. We're at about 30,000 now.'" (Patricia Lopez, “Ritchie is sued over voter-registration records,” Star Tribune, May 28, 2009)