Minnesota Supreme Court Victory!

Major Party Lists of Election Judges Must Be Exhausted

Minnesota has a Secretary of State and election officials who must be told by the State Supreme Court to follow the law.

In a unanimous opinion handed down yesterday, October 29, 2024, the state’s highest court sided with the Minnesota Voters Alliance and the Upper Midwest Law Center and unanimously held that Hennepin County failed to exhaust the major party lists in appointing election judges to its Absentee Ballot Board. Respondents now have until November 1, 2024 to do so.

The petitioners, which included the Republican Party of Minnesota, brought this action because public data—long withheld from the petitioners—showed that Hennepin County failed to include any Republican-affiliated election judges from its Party List on its absentee ballot board.

A press conference, recorded here, was held at the State Capitol on October 16, 2024 to announce the Petition to the Minnesota Supreme Court to require Hennepin County to follow the law.

The Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State was ordered to respond to the petition and erroneously stated, in that response, that counties are not required to use or exhaust the party lists when appointing election judges to their absentee ballot boards. This order corrects this egregious misinterpretation of the law.

The Court noted that Hennepin County could look to the example of Olmsted County from its 2022 Minnesota Voters Alliance decision, where Olmsted County appointed equal numbers of Republican and Democrat election judges to its Absentee Ballot Board. 

We are grateful that the Minnesota Supreme Court ordered Hennepin County to follow Minnesota Election Law, which is designed to ensure accurate and secure elections and prevent fraud.

All Minnesotans benefit from knowing that whichever party they affiliate with, counties and cities evaluating absentee ballots must have representation from their party in that process. All counties and cities across Minnesota should take notice: you must exhaust both parties' election judge lists when constituting your ballot boards.