According to The Center Square, the Minnesota Supreme Court has rejected GOP candidate Mike Lindell’s request for a full hand recount of the Aug. 11 gubernatorial primary, calling it “without merit” and siding with the state-approved partial recount plan. The ruling was released on Saturday.
The ruling: “Alleged anomalies” aren’t the basis for a manual recount
Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson wrote that “Lindell argues that he is entitled to a full recount for both the Democratic and Republican primary races for governor ‘to ensure that there are no anomalies in the ballots, whether the votes cast are for the Democratic or Republican primaries,’ and that this recount must include ‘the recording of votes for every candidate.’”
Hudson added, “But Lindell’s focus on alleged anomalies confuses the purpose of a manual recount with an election contest.”
Lindell’s response: Appeal planned, full hand count sought
The Center Square reports that Lindell said he would appeal. “My name was on 1,100,000 ballots and they all need to be looked at and counted,” he said in an interview.
Following the primary, Lindell alleged “multiple abnormalities” and stated, “One of the few good election laws Minnesota does have, is that as a candidate, I have the right to completely audit and hand count every ballot in the state, and I am going to exercise that right to the full extent of the law.”
Who gets counted under the current plan?
Lindell’s campaign criticized the state’s “contingent plan,” asserting: “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.”
The Center Square reports that Lindell sued the Minnesota secretary of state last week over narrowing the scope of the recount, saying the plan was announced the same day as the Aug. 24 recount deadline. “Narrowing the scope does not shrink the recount—it disables it,” his campaign said.
Cost offer and potential scale
Per The Center Square, Lindell proposed to independently pay the full costs of a discretionary recount, estimated at $825,000. If conducted, The Center Square reported it would be the largest privately financed statewide recount in Minnesota history.
Primary results
In the primary, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth received 179,683 votes to Lindell’s 134,282—a 45,401-vote margin, according to The Center Square.
What’s next
As reported by The Center Square, Lindell said he will appeal the decision. No timetable was provided in the report.
