The Minnesota Supreme Court rejected MyPillow founder Mike Lindell’s call for a recount after his loss in the Republican gubernatorial primary by 11 points.
Lindell has made a name for himself on the national stage for consistently denying the legitimacy of election results, carrying that theme through to his own landslide loss to Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth on Aug. 11. Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson said in a six-page ruling that Lindell’s claim “fails on the merits” and wrote that he seemed not to understand the purpose of a recount.
“Lindell argues that he is entitled to a full recount for both the Democratic and Republican primary races for governor ‘to ensure that there are no anomalies in the ballots, whether the votes cast are for the Democratic or Republican primaries,’ and that this recount must include ‘the recording of votes for every candidate,’” she wrote.
“But Lindell’s focus on alleged anomalies confused the purpose of a manual recount with an election contest,” Hudson added.
The lawsuit was filed after the Minnesota secretary of state declined to perform a recount according to Lindell’s parameters, which he claimed violated the law.
MIKE LINDELL ACCUSES MINNESOTA OF ‘BAIT AND SWITCH’ IN RECOUNT EFFORTS
“One of the few good election laws Minnesota does have is that as a candidate, I have the right to completely audit and hand count every ballot in the state, and I am going to exercise that right to full extent of the law,” Lindell said in a press release last week. “Even if this recount and audit does not overturn my election for governor of Minnesota, I believe this is the gateway to getting rid of these electronic voting machines. One hundred and thirty-two countries have banned these machines already. The United States should be setting the standard for elections, instead we are the worst in the world.”
Hudson disagreed, ruling that the secretary of state and the State Canvassing Board were “not committing any wrongful act, omission, or error by following — as the Secretary of State proposes — the procedures set forth” in Minnesota election law.