Maguire's Endorsement Challenge Will Get Full DFL Review on May 12

Mayor Mike Maguire's formal challenge to the kicked off a weeks-long review process that will culminate in an commission review on May 12, according to Minnesota DFL officials.

Party Affairs Director David Weinlick said party officials are in the process of collecting documentation, statements and evidence regarding Maguire's allegation of multiple vote counting errors during the endorsement convention, which took place on March 24. That information will be reviewed by the party's State Constitution and Bylaws Commission prior to issuing a recommendation at its May 12 hearing.

Maguire argues the errors swayed momentum at the convention in favor of opponent Jim Carlson. Both were seeking DFL endorsement to run for Eagan's state senate seat, currently occupied by Sen. Ted Daley (R).

On the fourth ballot, Carlson captured the DFL endorsement after taking 200 votes, or 60.06 percent of the vote, to Maguire’s 133 votes, or 39.94 percent. The threshold required for the endorsement was 60 percent.

But local party officials conducting a limited review of convention votes on April 9 found errors in the first three ballots cast. The review focused on results from the district's second precinct during the third ballot, according to District Chair John Wells. There, reviewers found that six votes for Maguire had not been counted by the tellers tabulating the precinct's votes. Those same two tellers—one from the Carlson campaign and one from the Maguire campaign—also committed less significant errors in Carlson's favor the first and second ballots, Wells said.

Wells characterized the errors as unintentional mistakes.

“We had over 1,500 votes, and we screwed up on a dozen of them," Wells said. “I think we have the proper safeguards in place, but I think human error crept in around them."

Were the errors enough to tip the scales in favor of Carlson, who attained over 50 percent of the vote in each of the first three ballots?

That is one of the questions the DFL commission will have to decide on May 12, Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin said. The commission could uphold the current endorsement, require the senate district to hold another convention or nullify and revoke the current endorsement, among other options, Martin said.

Party regulations require challengers to file a file complaint within 10 business days of the challenged action. Although Maguire's challenge came more than 10 business days after the convention, it was within 10 days of the discovery of the voting errors, Martin said.

Ordinarily, the commission's recommendation would pass to Martin for final oversight. The party chair was on the floor as a delegate, however, and has recused himself from the challenge process, according to Weinlick. For that reason, the recommendation will pass to Minnesota DFL Associate Chair Marge Hoffa, Weinlick said.

An endorsement challenge is uncommon, but not unheard of, Weinlick said. The party usually adjudicates one or two challenges each election cycle, he added.

But in Eagan, a swing district, it is an "unfortunate distraction", Martin said.

“We obviously wanted to be unified as early as possible and have an endorsement that’s been made, and we want to respect that endorsement and get behind that candidate as quickly as possible…but we also want to make sure the integrity of the endorsment process and the validity of the endorsement is upheld," Martin said.