Mike Lindell is withholding the payment required for a recount and audit of ballots cast in the Republican primary for Minnesota governor, claiming that the Secretary of State’s office has proposed an unlawful recount process, according to a statement released by his campaign Monday.
The MyPillow founder, who, according to the current results, finished second to Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth in the race, said on Wednesday that he would personally pay for the recount. Secretary of State General Counsel Lauren Bethke set Monday as the deadline for Lindell to submit the request.
Lindell’s campaign said the $825,000 payment was “primed and ready to cover the costs” but had not been submitted because of a dispute over the planned scope of the recount. The campaign said state officials intend to recount only the votes cast for Lindell and Demuth and not all the votes cast in the Republican gubernatorial primary, while excluding votes for other candidates in the race.
“The actions taken by the Secretary of State put Mike Lindell in an untenable position,” Lindell’s campaign said.
The campaign argues that the scope of the recount violates Minnesota law, citing a provision that defines a recount as determining “the number of votes validly cast for the office or question to be recounted.”
Lindell is asking the state to waive the payment deadline until a court can rule on the parameters of the recount proposed by election officials.
Cassondra Knudson, a spokesperson for Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, said in response to the Lindell campaign’s statement, “Our office provided the contingent recount plan to Mr. Lindell after it was approved by the State Canvassing Board on August 18. The plan follows state law and administrative rules on recount procedures, and is consistent with plans of its kind for the past two decades.”
The state agency last week had released a contingency plan showing how a statewide hand recount would be conducted if a request were made. According to the documents, Paul Linnell, the office’s director of elections, would serve as state recount official, with authority to appoint deputy and assistant deputy officials to oversee counting at sites across the state. Under the plan, the recount would be open to the public and media.
There have been no official findings of fraud or irregularity in the Minnesota primary results. Lindell told reporters during primary night on Aug. 11 that he would not concede until every vote was counted and that his team had spotted “anomalies” it needed time to review, though he offered no evidence at the time.
Minnesota law states that “an apparent losing candidate must submit a request for a discretionary recount along with the funds to cover the cost of the recount within five days of the canvass of a primary election.”
According to state election officials, 179,683 people voted for Demuth in the primary, while 134,282 voters cast a ballot for Lindell.
The Republican nominee will face Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the Nov. 3 general election to succeed retiring Gov. Tim Walz.
