Image from Representative Tom Murphy's Facebook Page
Fergus Falls – Both of District 9’s State Representatives have signed a joint statement today (March 26th) regarding the handling of the Republican Caucus in Otter Tail County by the Minnesota GOP (MNGOP).
At the end of February, David Hann, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, released a statement on Facebook informing Republicans that due to the issues from both Otter Tail County Caucus locations, no new delegates are considered elected, and the people chosen to be delegates in 2022 will remain so per state law (click here for more information).
Since then, grassroots Republicans have fought to overturn the decision, insisting that the elections did take place correctly and that the people elected as delegates should not dismissed.
After reviewing the paperwork from caucus night, Representative Jeff Backer of District 9A and Representative Tom Murphy of District 9B have issued a formal statement in regards to their stance on the matter, and they believe the elected delegates should be confirmed by officials.
In the statement they say, “In most cases, precincts in Otter Tail County filled out their Sign-In Sheets correctly and completely. In fact, of the 468 elections held for delegates and alternates, only 21 need verification from precinct officers. This raises a critical question. If 95.5% of OTC’s elections are clear and only a handful of votes need verification, why would OTC leaders and MNGOP choose not recognize these 2024 results?”
Backer and Murphy are urging Otter Tail County Leaders and MNGOP leaders to overturn their original decision and recognize the delegates elected.
“An election was held. The people have spoken. Now OTC Leaders, MNGOP, and party representatives can choose to silence their own base or practice what they preach and uphold the integrity of our election process.”
There has been no response from Hann or the MNGOP as of yet.
Full Letter:
To: Chair Hann, Duty Chair Bergstrom, Exec Director Mathews, Members of the MN GOP Exec Board & Others:
Subject Line: All 91 precincts in Otter Tail County have been reviewed for 2024
On February 27, 2024, grassroots members in Otter Tail County gathered for caucus elections. Acting in good faith despite multiple administrative failures, these members proceeded with the business at hand: successfully electing precinct officers, delegates, and alternates.
In the weeks since then, Otter Tail County leaders, in consultation with the MNGOP Board and other party leaders, have attempted to overturn the results of these elections by not recognizing the will of the voters and replacing their cherished right to representative government with the decisions of party leaders.
Caucus elections are the foundation of our party’s structure, the point at which grassroots members formally engage in a new election cycle. Many of these grassroots members are among the party’s hardest workers, volunteering their time and energy to support Republican candidates and causes. Disregarding their choices at caucus is disrespectful, disenfranchising, and damaging to our party and our candidates. Can we expect members to continue supporting us when they’ve been treated this way?
As a party, we’ve taken a stand on election integrity. We campaign on it. We work tirelessly to promote honest elections. We condemn any appearance of election tampering. Elections belong to the people, not to election administrators or third parties. How can we continue to take a stand on this issue when we disregard the voices of our own supporters and undermine our own election processes?
In forming our position on this issue, we have reviewed the election paperwork from this year’s OTC caucus, documented on “Precinct Caucus Attendee Sign-In Sheets.” We have attached two sheets as representative examples of how elections were conducted at this year’s caucus.
Each sheet contained three columns for recording caucus information and election results as follows:
1) Names of all precinct attendees.
2) Record of attendees who wished to run for delegate and alternate positions.
3) Record of attendees who were elected as delegates, alternates, and precinct officers.
The first sheet is from Amor Township. In this precinct, attendees filled out all three columns, including the third column where election results were recorded. The results are clear. Why would party leaders attempt to disregard them?
The second sheet is from Eastern Township. In this precinct, two attendees were present. One attendee indicated a preference for delegate, the other a preference for alternate. Since Eastern Township was allocated one delegate slot and two alternate slots, neither attendee had to compete for their preferred position. Recording the election results in the third column would have been correct but redundant. Here again, the results are clear. Why is there a need to dismiss them?
In most cases, precincts in Otter Tail County filled out their Sign-In Sheets correctly and completely. In fact, of the 468 elections held for delegates and alternates, only 21 need verification from precinct officers.
This raises a critical question. If 95.5% of OTC’s elections are clear and only a handful of votes need verification, why would OTC leaders and MNGOP choose not recognize these 2024 results?
Over the last few weeks, numerous County BPOUs and MN Legislators from around the State have weighed in and expressed concern for OTC’s and MNGOP’s actions. But it’s not too late to make the right decision. In the interest of our organization, we urge all party leaders to honor the decisions of OTC’s caucus electorate and recognize the 2024 election results.
An election was held. The people have spoken. Now OTC Leaders, MNGOP, and party representatives can choose to silence their own base or practice what they preach and uphold the integrity of our election process.
Jeff Backer
State Representative District 9A
Tom Murphy
State Representative District 9B
CC: David Hann