Minnesota Republicans Sue to Stop Election Certification, Claim Secretary of State 'Illegally Altered' Election Laws
With Democrat election officials across the several battleground states that still have challenges to their elections racing to certify their votes, Minnesota lawmakers have filed a lawsuit to halt the certification of the state’s election results.
A group of lawmakers who are part of Minnesota’s New House Republican Caucus filed a lawsuit late Monday to halt the certification of that state’s election results. The lawsuit claims misconduct by Secretary of State Steve Simon. The lawsuit alleges that Simon, a Democrat, “[I]llegally altered Minnesota’s election laws.”
Members of New House Republican Caucus say they are suing to suspend certification of Minnesota's election, set for Tuesday. Caucus spokeswoman could not immediately provide copy of suit. I'm not yet seeing anything field in Ramsey or federal court. pic.twitter.com/NEvKIafj3D
— Stephen Montemayor (@smontemayor) November 23, 2020
The suit was brought forth by State Republican Reps. Steve Drazkowski, Tim Miller, and Jeremy Munson. It was enjoined by Jose Jimenez, co-founder of the MN Election Integrity Team.
“His office issued unlawful consent decrees that greatly affected the rules that govern absentee ballots and who can assist people at the polls,” Drazkowski, Miller, and Munson said in a joint statement. “To circumvent the Minnesota Legislature and unilaterally change election law is entirely unconstitutional. This abuse of power must be addressed.”
The lawmakers pointed out they were engaging with other legislators and candidates in legal action against Simon.
Jimenez said his team found that Dominion Voting Systems were employed in at least 6 of 87 counties. He said is team also concluded that “many irregularities were witnessed at the polls and with the management of Absentee ballots by the Secretary of State at various county locations.”
A spokesperson for Simon said the office was appraised of the lawsuit “but absent any order to the contrary, we’re proceeding with the statewide canvass as planned.”
The New House Republican Caucus members associated with the lawsuit said that Simon’s rule changes violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment due to the fact they resulted in absentee and/or mail-in ballots being treated differently from county to county.
“Contrary to Steve Simon’s beliefs, only the Minnesota Legislature has the power to change election law. The secretary’s refusal to adhere to constitutional principles is an affront to free and fair elections. We intend to fix this mess,” their statement said.
Minnesota’s state canvassing board was slated to certify the election results on November 24, 2020.
