MINNEAPOLIS _ Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Keith Downey said Friday that a lawsuit by the state's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to strike Donald Trump and Gov. Mike Pence from the state ballot in November is "a blatant and frivolous attempt to disenfranchise so many Minnesota voters."
DFL Chairman Ken Martin filed the petition Thursday with the Minnesota Supreme Court. It says Secretary of State Steve Simon, a DFLer, erred when he accepted the state GOP's "certificate of nomination" for the Trump-Pence ticket. The petition takes issue with the method by which Republicans selected alternate presidential electors, arguing it was in violation of state law.
The matter is of some urgency: early voting in Minnesota starts Sept. 23. In an order posted Friday morning, Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea sought further information from all three parties to the suit: Simon must set a date by which a high court ruling is necessary so that legal ballots can be prepared; the DFL must explain why it didn't file its petition earlier; and the GOP must offer its own response.
Even if the DFL's petition is unsuccessful, it could force the Minnesota Republican Party to redirect vital financial resources with the election just weeks off. Several of the DFL's attorneys in the case previously represented U.S. Sen. Al Franken in his 2008 Senate election lawsuit.
Downey's response came via news release. He said the state GOP "completed its requirements, in compliance with state law and party rules ... the ballot filing was certified by the secretary of state and properly placed on the ballot."
Downey said Trump "got on the ballot fair and square" and accused the DFL of trying to "rig the election." Downey did not immediately return a call seeking further comment.
At its state convention last spring, Minnesota Republicans neglected to select 10 alternate presidential electors, an obscure step but a required one in the process of electing the next president. The GOP's Executive Committee met in August to address the error and choose the alternates, but state law holds that selection must come at the state convention.
"This language is clear and unequivocal," the DFL petition read.
Martin was not granting interviews Friday. He said in his own statement Thursday night that "it is incumbent upon political parties to follow the rules binding our elections."
Also Friday, a source close to Trump's campaign said that Mike Lukach, hired just last month as the Republican candidate's Minnesota state director, has been reassigned to another state. The source said the transfer was already in the works and not related to the ballot challenge.
