Republican Greg Boe won his bid for Minnesota House District 47B by 117 votes, enough to hold off a state mandated recount, but now Democratic lawyers have successfully pushed for a recount nearly a month after the election.
Boe defeated Democrat Donzel Leggett 10,853 to 10,736 votes, or 0.54 percent, in the November 6 election. A publicly funded recount for a state legislative election is only triggered if the difference in votes amounts to less than one-half of one percent, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office.
A discretionary recount can be requested by a losing candidate if the request is made within seven days of the canvass of a general election, which occurred on November 27 at 2 p.m.
“MN DFL [Democratic-Farmer-Labor] State Party and House Caucus sent a letter to request a recount due to the accounts of voting machines not working,” Leggett said in a Facebook statement issued at 2:03 p.m. on November 27.
“We just want to make sure everyone feels their vote was accurately recorded,” he added. “Our democracy only works if we stay engaged and push for our elected officials to listen to our voices.”
Leggett had previously claimed that the DFL “has committed to funding a recount,” which will cost at least $750, according to The Chaska Herald. The Herald reports that the recount will occur December 6 at 8:30 a.m. and will consist of a team of six election judges, with both candidates allowed representatives to witness the recount.
“I believe in the election process and I trust those election officials. I’m a little surprised that this is happening so late after the election and it seems like a waste of money, so that has me a little concerned,” Boe said of the recount. “If this was me losing by a margin outside the mandatory recount I think I would have respected the process and not gone forward with the recount.”
Leggett never officially conceded the race to Boe, but told his supports the day after his loss that they still had “a few days until every vote is counted and a winner is officially declared.”
Once Boe was officially declared the winner, Leggett again held off on conceding and instead said he would wait for the results to be certified.
“Once certified, we will have seven days to request a recount, if we believe that is warranted to ensure confidence in the election results,” he wrote on Facebook.
– – –
Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Greg Boe” by Greg Boe.
