Instant-runoff voting foes vow to overturn ballot result

St. Paul voters narrowly chose to adopt instant-runoff voting on Tuesday. But opponents of the ballot measure plan to challenge the validity of the result.

In the waning days of the campaign, the No Bad Ballots Committee filed a pair of grievances with the Office of Administrative Hearings charging that IRV supporters were using false claims to bolster their electoral prospects. Specifically, the group took issue with claims that the DFL party, the St. Paul League of Women Voters and President Obama, among others, supported the adoption of instant-runoff voting.

“They knew they were going to lose if they didn’t deceive the voters of St. Paul,” says Chuck Repke, co-chair of the No Bad Ballots Committee.

The St. Paul Better Ballots Campaign, which spearheaded the IRV campaign, has denied any wrongdoing. The ballot measure, which asked voters if they wanted to adopt instant-runoff voting for municipal elections, passed by a 52-48 percent margin. Minneapolis utilized the new voting system, whereby voters rank candidates in order of preference, for the first time on Tuesday and experienced few difficulties.

A phone hearing on the grievances is set for 4 p.m. today. An administrative law judge will determine if there is sufficient evidence of wrongdoing to proceed to a formal hearing. Repke wants the result of the ballot measure tossed out.

“I think we win this in court quite easily,” he says.