Democrats Petition to Get Donald Trump Off Minnesota Ballot

The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party filed a legal challenge Thursday petitioning the Minnesota Supreme Court to remove Donald Trump and running mate Mike Pence from the Minnesota ballot.

"It is apparent that clear errors occurred in the Republican process of selecting alternative electors for getting Donald Trump on the Minnesota ballot," DFL Chair Ken Martin said in a statement.

"It is incumbent upon political parties to follow the rules binding our elections and in this instance it does not appear that the Minnesota Republican Party did so."

Read also: Donald Trump Almost Misses Ballot in Minnesota

In order to get their presidential nominees on the ballot, the DFL and Republican parties are required to provide the secretary of state with three sets of names: the party’s candidates for president and vice-president; the 10 people nominated as presidential electors; and the 10 people nominated as alternate presidential electors.

According to Keith Downey, chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, the party "forgot" to elect alternate presidential electors at the state convention earlier this year.

After being notified that they had failed to provide the names of alternative electors by the secretary of state’s office, Republicans appointed alternate electors in a closed-door meeting rather than electing them.

Democrats, and some Republicans, contend this is a violation of state law.

Michael Brodkorb, a former deputy chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota, first broke the news on Twitter last month that state Republicans had yet to file the necessary paperwork to get Trump on the ballot, just days before the deadline.

Brodkorb wrote in MinnPost this week that the recent ballot flub may indicate state Republicans are less than thrilled about Trump being their nominee.

Brodkorb spoke to Jill Vujovich-Laabs, a Republican activist and Trump supporter, who's taken note of several missteps by state Republicans this campaign season.

In addition to the ballot flub, Vujovich-Laabs noted how state Republicans did not order enough Trump campaign buttons to sell at the Minnesota State Fair, and questioned why state Republicans waited days to respond to behavior of protesters at Trump’s campaign event in Minneapolis last month.

"I think there is a lack of cohesion between Republicans, which has caused splintering in the party," Vujovich-Laabs said.

"I think all of these mistakes are evidence of this."

Downey responded to the petition Friday by criticizing what he calls a "frivolous petition to remove Donald Trump and Mike Pence from the ballot as baseless and politically corrupt."

"Donald Trump got on our ballot fair and square, and it is outrageous that the Democrat Party would actually try to rig the election this way,” Downey said in a statement.

"It sure smells bad when the Democrat Party petitions the Democrat Secretary of State to remove the Republican candidate from the presidential ballot. With Mr. Trump gaining strength every day and Hillary Clinton tanking in the polls, it appears Minnesota Democrats are very worried. In the end the Clinton machine’s blatant and frivolous attempt to disenfranchise so many Minnesota voters will backfire – it’s everything that people see wrong with politics."

Minnesota Public Radio reporter Brian Bakst wrote on Twitter that the Minnesota Supreme Court typically rules quickly on election litigation. Absentee and early voting for the November election begins Sept. 23 in Minnesota.

A copy of the Democrats' petition is here.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr /Creative Commons