On Friday, May 29, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie publically acknowledged that Minnesota’s election records are out-of-balance and that counties were late in reporting their results. “We owe Secretary of State Ritchie thanks,” said Jeff Davis, president of Minnesota Majority and one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Secretary of State and county election officials. “Secretary Ritchie basically made our case for us.” Ritchie’s statement is an admission in the plaintiff’s interest and admissible as evidence in court.

 

Secretary Ritchie acknowledged in Friday’s Star Tribune that Minnesota’s election records were out-of-balance by 30,000 to 40,000 records. “If the discrepancy is now down to 30,000 votes, at least that’s progress,” said Davis, “But it really doesn’t matter if the number is 3,000 or 30,000. The fact is that counties are very late in meeting their statutorily required obligations and election records still don’t balance – that is the essence of our case.” 

 

Plaintiffs in the case decided to amend their petition based upon Ritchie’s statement and new evidence discovered on Friday. The amended petition expands the list of county officials named in the suit and should minimize or eliminate the need for discovery. “Because the plaintiffs will rely on statements of fact made by the Secretary of State, there should be no dispute about the facts. That both simplifies and strengthens the case, and will probably lower its cost,” said Erick Kaardal, legal counsel in the case.