Lawsuit questions voting numbers

A conservative advocacy group has named Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and 31 county election officials in a suit alleging failure to comply with election laws.

Attorney Erick Kaardal of Mohrman & Kaardal is representing Minnesota Majority, which names McLeod County Auditor Cindy Schultz as a respondent in the suit.

Kaardal said more election ballots were cast last November in McLeod County than there were eligible voters, according to the statewide voter registry. The registry is used to generate the voter sign-in lists at polling places.

“We should know who voted, right?” Kaardal said. “We should have as many bar code readings as we had ballots … If we don’t get it reconciled, then we ask different questions.”

“Generally, at the county level, if you have excess ballots in the precinct, then somebody must not have signed in,” he added.

The Minnesota Supreme Court hasn’t yet decided whether it will hear Minnesota Majority’s case, and County Attorney Mike Junge said he’s not certain he’ll file a response.

“It’s our contention that we don’t have a problem,” he said. One possible cause for any apparent discrepancy, Junge added, could be same-day voter registrations.

“I’m not sure what they’re after,” said Schultz, who oversees county elections. “I believe our numbers are correct.”

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)