Mike Lindell withholding $825K recount payment, calls process 'unlawful'

(FOX 9) - Mike Lindell's campaign says it has the money ready to pay for a recount of the Republican primary for Minnesota governor, but it's not handing it over yet due to disputes over the process.

Mike Lindell recount dispute

What we know:

Lindell's campaign released a statement Monday saying the $825,000 payment was "primed and ready to cover the costs" but had not been submitted because of a disagreement over how the recount would be conducted.

The campaign says state officials plan to recount only the votes cast for Lindell and his opponent, Lisa Demuth, leaving out votes for all other candidates in the race.

Dig deeper:

According to Lindell's campaign, the approach violates Minnesota law, citing a provision in state law that the campaign says defines a recount as determining "the number of votes validly cast for the office or question to be recounted" — meaning all votes in the race must be counted, not just those for two candidates.

Lindell has asked the state to waive the payment deadline until a court can weigh in on the scope the Secretary of State has proposed.

What they're saying:

A statement from Lindell reads as follows: "With $825,000 wired and ready to fund the largest privately financed statewide recount in Minnesota history, the Office of the Secretary of State moved the goalposts. Hours before the payment deadline, the state narrowed the recount to two of the seven Republican candidates on the ballot — a change the Lindell campaign says violates Minnesota law.

"Minnesota Statute § 204C.35, subd. 3 sets the scope of a recount as "the number of votes validly cast for the office or question to be recounted."The office here is Governor. Every vote cast for that office falls within the recount.

"Under the state’s "contingent plan," only the votes for Mike Lindell and Lisa Demuth would be counted. The votes cast for the other five Republican candidates would not. Neither would the Democratic primary ballots — despite being printed on the same ballot form.

"Scope is the whole question. What Lindell’s team flagged in the election-night reporting data was not a discrepancy in one candidate’s totals. It was a pattern across the field: totals that moved backwards, totals that moved in lockstep across all seven Republican candidates, and counties reporting more votes than they should have. A pattern that spans seven candidates cannot be confirmed or ruled out by counting two of them. Narrowing the scope does not shrink the recount — it disables it.

"And it leaves Lindell with no lawful option. If he pays the $825,000 under the state’s redrawn scope, he funds a recount that violates Minnesota law and cannot answer the question it was requested to answer. If he goes to court to secure the full recount the statute provides, the Secretary of State’s position is that he forfeits his recount rights altogether — by missing a payment deadline for a recount he never requested.

"Lindell has asked the state to waive the statutory payment deadline until a court can rule on the scope the Secretary of State has proposed. The money is ready and has been ready. The state’s own deadline is now being used to run out the clock on the law.

The campaign is taking immediate legal action.

— Mike Lindell for Governor"

The other side:

A statement from the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office replied to Lindell's statement late Monday with the following: "Our office provided the contingent recount plan to Mr. Lindell after it was approved by the State Canvassing Board on Aug. 18. The plan follows state law and administrative rules on recount procedures, and is consistent with plans of its kind for the past two decades."

Big picture view:

According to state election officials, Demuth received 179,683 votes in the primary, while Lindell received 134,282.

There have been no official findings of fraud or irregularity in the Minnesota primary results.