What’s Happening in Scott & Sherburne Counties?

There are many procedures in place to address possible discrepancies in the vote totals. Conducting recounts after the election is one tool in the election integrity toolbox. Recounts are different from the Post Election Review audit, as explained well by Verified Voting: 

“A tabulation audit (post-election review) is a routine part of the post-election process designed to check whether ballots were counted accurately and happens regardless of the reported election results. A recount is performed in response to something that may have happened in a specific contest, such as a very close margin, and could be initiated automatically by statute or requested by candidates, voters, election officials, or interested parties. In most cases, the objective of a recount is to determine the outcome of a specific contest by counting all the ballots again.”

This is what is happening in Scott and Sherburne Counties, where election results within specific races were sufficiently close, for which a recount will be a useful tool to verify the final vote count. Other issues were also detected, with errors that need to be addressed. Check out this Minnpost article for a great explanation of what’s happening in Scott and Sherburne County. Quoted in the article is Max Hailperin, a professor emeritus in computer science at Gustavus Adophus College who has developed an expertise in elections computer systems, and explains:

“The elections process, as a process, is designed to be much more resilient and free from errors than the individual actions within it,” Hailperin said. “We’re constantly making errors and we’re constantly catching errors and fixing them. It is because the process is designed with the recognition that humans carrying out complicated processes do err. So there is a lot of cross checking and a lot of double checking and a lot of redundancy.”

All recounts will be conducted using the rules outlined in the OSS 2018 Recount Guide, with additional information on state recount laws found on Verified Voting. The Scott County Recount will be on November 21st at 8:30AM in the Scott County Government Center in Shakopee. The Sherburne County Recount will be on November 25th at 10:00AM in the Maple Room at the Government Center in Elk River.

We also want to highlight this excellent overview provided by Bruce Messelt, County Administrator, Sherburne County, of a reporting error that occurred in their election. This was not a vote counting error, but rather a reporting error, which he explained in great detail to the County Commissioners on today. This is an example of how the election review process allows for errors to be detected, researched, explained and resolved, with lessons learned for the future.

Michelle Witte, Executive Director

Pictured: Post Election Review, Washington County, 2024