MN District 54A race: Judge rules Brad Tabke's win stands
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A lawsuit challenging the status of who will represent District 54A encompassing Shakopee in the Minnesota House of Representatives has been decided, with a Scott County judge deciding Brad Tabke's win stands in an election decided by only 14 votes.
"There is no basis in fact or law for holding a special election," the judge ruled.
With this ruling, the balance of power in the Minnesota House stands at 66 Democrats and 67 Republicans, with one race — a special election in House District 40B scheduled for Jan. 28 — left to determine the balance of power in the chamber.
Missing ballots challenged
What we know:
During the Nov. 5 election, incumbent DFL Rep. Brad Tabke beat GOP challenger Aaron Paul, following a hand recount of nearly 22,000 ballots. The canvassing board certified the election results in late November, with Tabke winning 10,979 votes to Paul's 10,965 votes — a 14-vote margin.
However, an audit discovered there were 20 missing ballots from Precinct 10 and one for Precinct 12A.
On Nov. 27, 2024, the Scott County Attorney's Office released its preliminary investigation report about the missing ballots, saying, "Scott County has come to the conclusion that the ballots were likely disposed of while they were in their secrecy envelopes, after being removed from their signature envelopes, but before being tabulated."
County staff eliminated various possibilities for the ballot discrepancy, ultimately verifying that the number of voters, and absentee ballots, were counted and matched to the signature envelopes — all were accounted for, the report said.
However, Paul challenged the results of the election through a lawsuit, which was heard before Scott County Judge Tracy Perzel.
Lawsuit allegations
Dig deeper:
The election contest filed in Scott County listed two "undisputed facts" as reasons for the contest:
- "First, following the recent election, Scott County election officials announced that they have irretrievably lost and failed to count 21 ballots cast for the Representative of District 54A-and that 20 of these were unquestionably lawful and validly-cast ballots that Minnesota law required to be counted.
- "Second, after failing to count these 21 ballots, Scott County election officials declared that Rep. Tabke had been re-elected by a margin of 14 votes over Contestant Aaron Paul. In other words: Scott County election officials unlawfully lost and failed to count significantly more ballots than would be needed to change the announced result of the election, meaning at the very least the actual victor is in absolute doubt and at worst the candidate who received fewer votes has been announced as the winner."
Paul challenged the results of the election, alleging "irregularities in the conduct of the election" and "deliberate, serious and material violations."
The lawsuit also alleged it is "impossible to rely on canvassed election results to determine which candidate won the Nov. 5 election for House District 54A."
The contest asked the court to declare a vacancy that "would allow voters to make a clear decision pursuant to Minnesota law governing special elections."
Gov. Tim Walz would then call a special election to fill the seat, according to Minnesota law.
Judge rules Tabke's win stands
What they're saying:
Here's what the ruling says: "The Court has carefully considered the testimony of Scott County and City of Shakopee officials, election judges who staffed the Shakopee early voting location, and 12 of 20 voters from Shakopee Precinct-10 whose envelope absentee ballots went uncounted. In addition, the Court has thoroughly reviewed each of the exhibits including, among others, election-related documents. Of the 12 voters from Shakopee Precinct-10 who testified, six testified they voted for Aaron Paul, and six testified they voted for Brad Tabke. This leaves eight identified Shakopee Precinct 10 voters who did not testify and one unidentified Shakopee Precinct-12A voter who did not testify. For purposes of this election contest only, and giving Aaron Paul the benefit of any plausible doubt, the Court considers the votes of the nine voters who did not testify to have been nine votes for Aaron Paul. The table below reflects that even with the 21 uncounted ballots, there is not uncertainty in the present, official election results as to which candidate received the most legally cast votes or an effect on the election results."
"The Court has applied the law, including the statutes Aaron Paul alleges were violated and prior court decisions relevant to the distinct facts of this election contest. Aaron Paul has not proven his three election contest grounds by the greater weight of the evidence. There is no basis in fact or law for holding a special election," the ruling says.
Read the full ruling below.
Reactions to the judge's ruling
What they're saying:
Rep. Tabke released the following statement: "The judge’s orders are clear and decisive. We won this election, and there’s no reason to doubt it. The judge has reconfirmed I am a member of this legislature. I’m ready to get to work today for Shakopee and for Minnesota.
"Leader Demuth must now unequivocally agree that the House GOP will not overturn the will of the 22,000 Shakopee voters AND agree to govern together for the people of Minnesota. We can start together today at noon if she wants. But if she’s not, I’m grateful my colleagues are willing to stand up for Shakopee with me. Together, we’ll fight for Shakopee and all Minnesota voters until Republicans are ready to do the right thing and get back to working together."
Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin released the following statement after the ruling: "The voters and the courts have both spoken, and it is time for Republicans to accept that they lost this election. Defying the courts and the voters to overturn an election would be an outrageous and illegitimate abuse of power. House Republicans should come back from the brink and abandon this outrageous partisan power grab. A partisan vote by Republican legislators to overturn this election cannot be tolerated and will not go unanswered."
Speaker-designate Lisa Demuth released the following statement: "The underlying facts of the case remain unchanged: there were 20 ballots destroyed in a race decided by just 14 votes. The judge relies on testimony from voters, while downplaying the inconsistencies and lack of absolute certainty that the correct set of voters was identified. Furthermore, allowing this decision to stand would set the precedent moving forward that voters must violate their fundamental right to a secret ballot in order to clear up cases where ballots are destroyed, and may increase the likelihood of bad actors choosing to destroy certain sets of ballots in tight races. Ultimately the Minnesota Constitution is clear that 'Each house shall be the judge of the election returns and eligibility of its own members.' We will evaluate this lengthy ruling and consider options in the coming days."
Minnesota Legislature special elections ahead
Why you should care:
The lawsuit was one of two races that could have shifted the balance of power in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
The current 66-67 split is due to District 40B representative Curtis Johnson resigning after a district judge ruled that he did not meet the residency requirements following an investigation that showed he did not live in an apartment he claimed he did.
Johnson initially won the District 40B race, which encompasses Roseville and Shoreview, but opponent Paul Wikstrom successfully sued – arguing he did not live in the district.
A special election is set for Jan. 28, 2025, to fill his seat – the outcome of which could tip the scales for a majority. The GOP has filed a petition to the Minnesota Supreme Court to halt it.
Meanwhile, in the Minnesota Senate, Gov. Walz scheduled a special election for Jan. 28, 2025, to fill the vacancy in Senate District 60 following the death of Sen. Kari Dziedzic.
Power-sharing disagreement
Big picture view:
Leaders of both the GOP and DFL previously sought a power-sharing agreement if the House remained tied 67-67 during the 2025 legislative session — something that has not happened since 1979.
But in a pair of news conferences on Jan. 6, party leaders differed on their assessments of steps forward, as GOP leaders claimed an "organizational majority" in the House, and DFL leaders contested the claim — threatening to not show up on the first day of the legislative session unless a power-sharing agreement was honored.
With the one-seat advantage, the GOP could have claimed committee chairs instead of having DFL co-chairs — part of the agreement when a tie was projected.
DFL holds early ceremony, GOP claims illegitimacy
What we know:
House DFL members held an early oath of office ceremony on Sunday, Jan. 12, at the Minnesota History Center, just steps away from the capitol building — two days before the legislature was set to convene.
Democrats have threatened to not show up as the legislative session begins if Republicans don't agree to a power-sharing agreement until the 40B special election. Without DFL members, the GOP wouldn't have a quorum — the number of lawmakers needed to conduct business.
If the Democrats don't show up, Republicans have in turn threatened to weigh their options to respond, including recalling members.
What they're saying:
In a statement on Sunday, GOP members said the early ceremony was illegitimate, and violates Minnesota law.
"State law is clear: swearing in happens at noon on the day the legislature convenes; any attempt to subvert that is illegitimate," wrote Rep. Lisa Demuth, the Republican speaker-designate. "This move is a slap in the face to the institution and to every voter who expects their elected officials to act in good faith and uphold the integrity of the legislative process. Minnesotans sent us here to govern, not to play political games."
A Minnesota statute does indeed call for legislature members to be sworn in on the day the legislature convenes inside their respective chambers. However, the DFL says an early oath of office, at a location outside the state capitol, is not unprecedented.
The DFL also argued that while the statute sets guidelines, it doesn't require the oath of office guidelines to be given on the first day of the session at the capitol.
"Last week we publicly stated our reasons for denying quorum — we would like Republicans to honor the will of the voters," DFL Speaker-designate Rep. Melissa Hortman explained in a provided statement. "We're working to successfully conclude negotiations with House Republicans and remain hopeful that we will have a power-sharing agreement… Denial of quorum is a legitimate parliamentary tactic… In the event Democrats choose to deny quorum, we wanted to be sure to have all our members properly and legally sworn in, and we did that this evening."
What's next:
The legislative session begins on Jan. 14.