Minnesota’s State Canvassing Board certifies election results, 2 recounts to take place

Tuesday, Minnesota’s State Canvassing Board met and unanimously certified the 2022 general election results, including state offices, judicial offices and eight U.S. House races.

More than 2.52 million votes were cast in the general election, including more than 671,000 absentee, the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office reports.

According to the state legislature, there will be recounts for two races. Those races are eligible for recounts by law due to results being separated by less than 0.5%:

• Minnesota State House – Dist. 3A: GOP candidate Roger Skraba had received 10,868 votes (49.98%) while Rep. Rob Ecklund (DFL-International Falls) had received 10,853 votes (49.91%).
• Minnesota State House – Dist. 3B: GOP candidate Natalie Zeleznikar had received 10,812 votes (50.01%) while Rep. Mary Murphy (DFL-Hermantown) received 10,777 votes (49.85%).

Recount efforts are set to begin next week, with the State Canvassing Board set to reconvene on Dec. 9 to certify those recount results.

How are results certified?

On Election Night, county election officials enter unofficial election results on the Secretary of State’s website. After that takes place, county election officials audit and proof their work before they canvass their results. Once results have been proofed by county election officials, the County Canvassing Board must review and approve the results before they are official. The county canvass report is then sent to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office, where it is carefully reviewed and incorporated into a statewide canvass report that is presented to the State Canvassing Board. This board is responsible for canvassing and certifying the results of all statewide elections.

You can learn more about the canvassing board process here.

What is the current balance of power?

Currently, the DFL has a 70-64 seat majority in the Minnesota House of Representatives and a 34-33 majority in the Senate for the beginning of the 2023 legislative session on Jan. 3.

Party Status Changes

The Secretary of State’s Office noted that the status of two political parties in the state is also changing due to the results of the election.

At the end of the year, the Grassroots – Legalize Cannabis Party will no longer be a major political party in Minnesota because the party didn’t have a candidate get at least 5% of the vote in any race in 2020 or 2022. However, the party did have an auditor candidate get more than 1% of the vote, meaning the party can file to receive minor party status.

Additionally, the Independence-Alliance Party didn’t get 1% of the vote in any race in 2020 or 2022, meaning it will lose its minor party status at the end of the year.

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