New information Wednesday on the recount in the race for Minnesota House seat 54A in Scott County.
The Scott County Attorney's Office has confirmed that 20 ballots that were unaccounted for since the election were likely thrown away and "likely will not be recovered."
Republican House Speaker-Designate Lisa Demuth said in a statement that the news confirms why they will be seeking a new election in order to protect the integrity of the vote.
"We appreciate the efforts by Scott County to investigate this matter and be transparent about their findings," Demuth said.
After a recount, DFL-incumbent Brad Tabke was declared the winner over Republican Aaron Paul by a margin of only 14 votes, which makes the 20 missing ballots enough to alter the outcome.
The House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) is expected to formally file the election contest as early as Friday.
The race is key in Minnesota because if Tabke holds the seat for Democrats, the State House is an even split between the DFL and Republicans. If somehow the seat flips to Paul, that would give the Republican Party full control of the House.
Earlier this week, the Scott County Canvassing Board certified that Tabke won the race but Paul says that shouldn’t stand in light of the missing ballots.
With a possible tie, there is a process underway to share power between the two parties and a far more complicated situation for determining a Speaker of the House plus shared committee positions that would require significant compromise between the two.
There's no official word of a special election in the district due to the missing ballots. An investigation into how they went missing is still ongoing in Scott County.
Minnesota House Republicans have already filed an election contest lawsuit. The court’s findings would ultimately be forwarded to the House for consideration.