Minnesota House race decided by 14 votes faces recount Thursday, outcome will determine party control of chamber
SHAKOPEE, Minn. — A recount of a close Minnesota House race on Thursday could determine the balance of power in the chamber, which now stands at a political tie, according to the unofficial results from the election two weeks ago.
Incumbent DFL Rep. Brad Tabke won district 54A by just 14 votes against GOP challenger Aaron Paul. That margin is close enough to trigger the taxpayer-funded recount. Election judges will hand count each of the 22,000 ballots precinct by precinct, with representatives of each party looking on.
A different result after the recount in favor of Paul would give Republicans a narrow House majority. Right now it's 67 to 67, evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, which has prompted leaders to explore a power-sharing agreement in the chamber.
But in recent history, the winner as determined by unofficial results on Election Day has prevailed in recounts, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. A vote shift in favor of the other candidate has been in the single digits in the last decade.
Election officials started the recount at 8:30 a.m. Thursday and the process is open to the public. They were sorting through ballots as of mid-morning.
Julie Hanson, elections manager, identified a discrepancy in the count of ballots in which 21 more people were recorded as checking in to vote absentee than the number of ballots counted in Shakopee. That's ignited intense scrutiny and prompted calls for more transparency.
According to a news release from Scott County, there is an ongoing investigation into this matter.
"The checks, balances, failsafes, and backstops of the election process worked as intended," said Scott County Administrator Lezlie Vermillion in a statement.
There will also be a recount in House District 14B in Sherburne County, where DFL Rep. Dan Wolgamott leads GOP candidate Sue Ek by 191 votes. There was an error uploading the results to the secretary of state's website, county officials said, that prompted questions.
This story is developing and will be updated
