The Minnesota Supreme Court has rejected Mike Lindell’s attempt to force a broader recount of the Republican primary for governor, ruling that the process approved by state election officials complies with the law.
The decision, signed by Chief Justice Natalie Hudson on Saturday, leaves Lisa Demuth’s victory intact. The Minnesota House speaker defeated the MyPillow founder by 179,683 votes to 134,282 in the 11 August primary and was certified as the Republican nominee on 18 August. ([fox9.com](https://www.fox9.com/news/minnesota-supreme-court-denies-lindell-bid-force-new-recount-process))
Lindell had sought a hand recount of ballots from both the Republican and Democratic governor’s primaries, with votes for every candidate recorded separately. The state’s plan instead provided for individual counts for Lindell and Demuth, while ballots cast for other Republican candidates would be placed in a third group.
In its six-page order, the court said Lindell’s focus on alleged “anomalies” confused the purpose of a recount with that of an election contest. A recount, it said, is intended to establish whether votes were counted accurately, while an election contest addresses alleged irregularities in the conduct of an election or the canvassing of votes.
The justices concluded that Minnesota officials were entitled to limit the scope of the recount in the way they had proposed. They also noted that ballots in every category would still be counted and could be challenged under the process.
Mike Lindell’s recount challenge
Lindell had been required to provide an estimated $825,000 deposit by 24 August to cover the cost of the recount. His campaign said the money was ready to be transferred, but withheld payment after objecting to the state’s proposed arrangements. The state said the payment was not made by the deadline.
His petition asked the Supreme Court to suspend the deadline and require officials to conduct a full recount of the relevant ballots. The court rejected the request, finding that his claims about the scope of the process did not establish a legal basis for intervention.
Lindell has told MPR News that he plans to appeal. Separately, he has filed notice of an election contest in Ramsey County, a case that the Supreme Court said was not affected by its ruling. ([startribune.com](https://www.startribune.com/minnesotas-top-court-rejects-mike-lindells-bid-for-primary-recount/601884257))
There have been no official findings of fraud or other irregularities in the Minnesota primary. Under the state’s contingency plan, any authorised hand recount would be overseen by the director of elections and open to the public and the media. ([cbsnews.com](https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/court-rejects-mike-lindell-recount-bid-gop-governor-primary/))
Demuth is due to face Democratic nominee Amy Klobuchar in November.
