Minnesota high court rejects Lindell’s gubernatorial primary recount bid

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Saturday rejected MyPillow founder Mike Lindell’s (R) bid for a recount of the state’s gubernatorial primary election, effectively confirming an 11-point loss that he has defiantly challenged.

Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson wrote in a six-page ruling that Lindell’s “claim fails on the merits.”

“Lindell argues that he is entitled to a full recount for both the Democratic and Republican primary races for governor ‘to ensure that there are no anomalies in the ballots, whether the votes cast are for the Democratic or Republican primaries,’ and that this recount must include ‘the recording of votes for every candidate,'” she wrote.

“But Lindell’s focus on alleged anomalies confused the purpose of a manual recount with an election contest,” she added, before citing legal precedent.

Hudson also wrote that the Minnesota secretary of state’s office and the State Canvassing Board were “not committing any wrongful act, omission, or error by following –– as the Secretary of State proposes –– the procedures set forth” in state election law.

Lindell called for a recount after his primary loss to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R), who won the Aug. 11 primary by 45,000 votes.

He told NBC News on Saturday that he plans to appeal the ruling, adding that his team requested election data from all 87 counties through the Freedom of Information Act to conduct an independent investigation of that data.

“I’m willing to pay even more money,” Lindell told the outlet, having previously said he’ll cover a full recount with an estimated $825,000. “I don’t care what it costs.”

Lindell refused to pay the money last Monday, the state’s deadline for a recount and audit of the race, after the recount would have solely been about counting the ballots cast for him or Demuth.

Hudson wrote that Lindell, having missed the Monday deadline, “instead sent documentation to the Secretary of State to reflect wire transfer readiness, and he filed this section 204B.44 petition.”

That same day, Lindell said he would file a temporary restraining order against Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, claiming that Simon’s office had put Lindell “in an untenable position” by placing restrictions on his proposed audit by limiting the recount to Lindell and Demuth.

Lindell’s campaign previously told The Hill on Monday that “anomalies … identified by Mike Lindell’s team show an algorithm that applies to ALL of the candidates not simply Lindell and Demuth.”

The MyPillow founder currently owes the electronic voting system company Smartmatic $56,369 in sanctions following a defamation lawsuit, which one that his attorneys says he cannot afford. Lindell has accused the company in several media appearances of rigging the 2020 presidential election, echoing similar false claims made by President Trump, who endorsed Lindell in his race against Demuth.