Disputed Elections: What Can the Nation Learn from Minnesota?

[Image courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio]

We’re excited to be co-hosting an event today with the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Democracy Project examining how the lessons learned in Minnesota’s two recent recounts might transfer to the larger question of how states might manage and resolve disputed elections.

From the event announcement:

In the wake of the controversial 2000 presidential election – and high-profile close elections like those in 2008 and 2010 in Minnesota – scholars and practitioners alike are examining how states can best handle the challenges of disputed elections. Political considerations often get top billing, but the legal questions presented are often the most difficult to resolve. Add the fact that new technology and procedures are reshaping elections across the country and it becomes clear that the nation needs to think hard – and well in advance – how to resolve disputes about who actually won an election.

We’re fortunate to have a stellar panel to join us to look at these questions:

• + Rachel Smith, Hennepin County Election Director
• + Eric Magnuson, attorney/former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice
• + David Lillehaug, attorney at Fredrikson & Byron/ attorney for Al Franken and Mark Dayton
• Ned Foley, Ohio State Moritz College of Law professor and Reporter for an American Law Institute project on disputed elections

I’m looking forward to the discussion – which will be valuable to election officials as well as lawyers and campaigns – and I’ll be sure to share the key takeaways in a future post.