MyPillow founder-turned-political activist Mike Lindell announced he was withholding his $825,000 payment for a recount in the recent Minnesota gubernatorial primary. He accused Minnesota’s secretary of state of engaging in a last-minute “bait and switch” on the “scope of the recount.” Lindell was told the recount would apply only to votes cast for the two Republican candidates, whereas Lindell claimed he was initially told it would apply to votes cast in the entire primary election. He accused Minnesota’s secretary of state of violating the law.
“Mike Lindell has his wire transfer of $825,000 primed and ready to cover the costs of the nation’s largest recount effort in history, but the Minnesota Secretary of State, at the last minute, changed the scope of the recount in violation of Minnesota law,” read a press release from the Lindell campaign.
“Earlier today, the Secretary of State made clear to Mike Lindell that they changed the scope of the audit by limiting the recount to only two Republican candidates — Mike Lindell and Lisa Demuth,” read the release. “The rest of the candidates’ votes would not be counted under their ‘contingent plan.’ Nor would the Democrat ballots be counted, even though the same ballot form was used for both gubernatorial primaries.”
The release then cited a specific statute in Minnesota election law pertaining to elections that Lindell believed proved he was right.
“Under Minnesota Statute Section 204C.35, subd (3) of Minnesota law, the scope of a recount is ‘the number of votes validly cast for the office … to be recounted,’” cited Lindell’s campaign in the release.
Lindell also claimed that the alleged election night irregularities affected all of the candidates in the recent election, not just the Republican primary voters. Lindell’s team cited an “algorithm” that allegedly showed “anomalies in election night reporting identified by Mike Lindell’s team.”
During Minnesota’s Republican gubernatorial primary on Aug. 11, Lindell was defeated by Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth. The Associated Press reported that Demuth received 43.4% of the vote to Lindell’s 32.5%. Lindell announced he would self-fund a recount due to his belief that there were voting irregularities. He also called his recount efforts a “gateway to getting rid of” electronic voting machines.
“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,” said Lindell in a press release. “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.”
LINDELL SELF-FUNDING RECOUNT IN DOUBLE-DIGIT MINNESOTA GOVERNOR PRIMARY LOSS
Lindell’s press release on Monday included an image of an alleged authentic money wire transfer for $825,000. The Lindell campaign claimed the decision by Minnesota not to audit the entire election has put him “in an untenable position.”
“If Lindell officially kicks off the recount effort by submitting the $825,000 amount to pay for a recount in accordance with the illegal scope defined by the Secretary of State, the recount will not be conducted in a lawful manner nor would it address the election results anomalies cited by his team,” read the release. “If Lindell fights to obtain a lawful recount that involves all candidates for the Governor’s race, the Secretary of State claims he would lose his right to any recount because he would not meet the deadline for the unlawful recount.”
Lindell has reportedly asked the Minnesota secretary of state to postpone the payment deadline “until a court can rule on the parameters of the recount proposed by the Secretary of State.”