Almost all election results official

Posted at 3:39 PM on November 27, 2012 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: Campaign 2012, State Government

Members of the State Canvassing Board have put their official stamp on most of the 2012 election results.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and the four judges that make up the panel met today to certify vote counts.

Official election results show Minnesota's total number of voters was a record 2,950,780. That's 76.1 percent of eligible voters and 81.7 percent of registered voters. The total was 30,000 more than previous state record set in 2008.

The board also approved the automatic recounts that begin Wednesday in two legislative races. One is in House District 8B, where Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, holds an 11 vote lead over DFLer Bob Cunniff. The other is in Senate District 20 in the Northfield area, where DFL candidate Kevin Dahle holds a 78 vote advantage over Republican Mike Dudley.

State Elections Director Gary Poser said the recounts will take place in five counties on a staggered schedule over three days.

"If one county doesn't finish in the single day, there could be some overlap where one county might be finishing up on the second day while it is still then beginning to start in another county," Poser explained. "But it allows the legal representatives to get around and be at the start of the recount in each of the counties."

The State Canvassing Board will meet again next Tuesday to address the recount results.

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