SHAKOPEE, Minn. — Editor's note: The video above first aired on KARE 11 on Nov. 21, 2024.
Elections officials in Scott County said the post-election discovery of a 21-ballot discrepancy in vote totals for Minnesota House District 56A was the result of "human error."
According to an updated statement from Scott County Attorney Ron Hocevar, the office believes the error happened during the initial collection of absentee ballots from residents of Shakopee.
“The preliminary investigation into the 21-ballot discrepancy hasn’t been determinative thus far, and it appears likely to be the result of human error that occurred during the collection of early absentee ballots at the City of Shakopee. This unfortunate situation resulted in a level of confusion that should not have occurred,” the statement said.
The county attorney added that "in the interest of transparency," a link to the county attorney's investigation summary has been made available. However, Hocevar said, the investigation remains ongoing.
According to the investigation report, the preliminary conclusion by county staff is that 20 absentee ballots accepted at one precinct in mid-October "most likely" were never removed from their secrecy envelopes and thrown away. It's believed those ballots "most likely" cannot be recovered.
The full investigation summary can be found here.
The ballot error most significantly impacts an extremely close Minnesota House race involving incumbent Democrat Brad Tabke of Shakopee and Republican challenger Aaron Paul. Going into the recount, Tabke held a 14-vote lead over Paul. At the end of the recount, Tabke's vote total stood at 10,980 votes while Paul was at 10,965.
According to earlier reporting from KARE 11 political reporter John Croman, thousands of people cast early absentee ballots in person at Shakopee City Hall leading up to the election, but officials later found the number of people who checked in to apply for absentee ballots was 21 higher than the number of absentee ballots collected and counted.
Of those 21 applicants, it was determined that 20 would have voted in the District 56A race.