In an effort to deny the state House a quorum amid a dispute over how to run a house that is expected to be evenly divided, Democratic state members from Minnesota organized a walkout on Tuesday, failing to appear for the opening day of the legislative session.
“Even if we disagree with the election results, we must accept them. We cannot allow Republicans to trample over our democracy in that manner,” said Rep. Melissa Hortman, the Democratic speaker-elect. “They want to do this kind of crazy revisionist version where they just throw out election results if they don’t like them.”
Legislators started drafting a power-sharing arrangement for the deadlocked state House, which needs a quorum of 68 to operate, after voters voted 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans to the chamber in November. However, Republicans declared their intention to seize control of the body after a residency dispute forced one Democrat out of office, prompting a special election on January 28 and an incident involving tossed absentee votes called into question another’s victory.
“Someone broke the law, thus it is no longer a tie. He was declared ineligible to assume office by the court. In an interview, Republican Majority Leader Lisa Demuth stated, “I believe that my Democratic colleagues are annoyed by that fact.”
Democrats’ absence prevents Republicans from choosing a state House speaker and designating committee leaders without the participation of all anticipated members. Until after the special election in late January, when another Democrat is anticipated to be elected, giving them additional authority in the House, the Democratic caucus intends to avoid the Capitol.
We will have a total of 133 members who are eligible to take the oath of office at noon. Normally, a quorum consists of 68 members, but in these particular circumstances, we are viewing it as follows: 133 members are eligible to take the oath of office, which would give us a 67-member quorum, Demuth stated.
The Democrat who controls the gavel while the body is not in session, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, disagreed.
In a letter to leadership last week, Simon stated that if there are not 68 members present, he will adjourn and lack the ability to take any further action.
The parties’ failed negotiations, which lasted from late Monday into early Tuesday, prompted the walkout. Republicans believe that nothing is final, while Democrats contend that the open seat scheduled for a special election is in a safe Democratic seat, preserving the legislative stalemate.
In retaliation, national Democrats announced that the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee would invest $100,000 in the party caucus to back David Gottfried, the candidate seeking a seat that a Democratic candidate won by 30 points in November.
Election authorities found they had unintentionally thrown out 21 absentee ballots without counting them, casting doubt on state representative Brad Tabke’s victory in November.
In preliminary counts, Tabke won by 14 votes. A state court affirmed Tabke’s victory on Tuesday after looking into the thrown-out ballots. The court cited testimony from enough individuals who swore under oath that they had voted for Tabke.
However, according to Minnesota law, Tabke’s eligibility is decided by the state House of Representatives, which means that a Republican majority might require a new election for the position.
Hortman said in a statement on Tuesday that Democrats are left with no choice but to refuse a quorum until the 67-67 balance is restored by the special election.
Our determination to oppose Republican attempts to remove Representative Brad Tabke from the Minnesota House unites Democrats. “We will use every available tool to prevent Republicans from engaging in this unprecedented abuse of power,” she declared.