Sherburne County Ballot Issue Puts House District 14B Race Just Out of Reach for Ek

(KNSI) — It appears the Minnesota State House of Representatives District 14B race will not be headed for a recount after a problematic ballot scanner was discovered in Sherburne County.

According to election officials, the scanner didn’t properly send its information to the Secretary of State’s Office, Tuesday night, so the votes weren’t counted. Once it was discovered, the issue was fixed and the total was updated. That put victory just out of reach for Republican candidate Sue Ek.

Ek was challenging Democratic incumbent Representative Dan Wolgamott.

At one point, with 100% of precints reporting, Ek appeared to be the victor with a four vote lead. KNSI News verified that information with election officials who told us the total was correct. Wednesday morning, the vote total had changed and Ek was down by 28 votes. That would have triggered an automatic state funded recount as it was under a half a percent difference. When the ballot scanner problem was detected and the votes were tallied again, Ek was down by 191 votes. That pushed the difference between the two to .96% which would mean if Ek wanted a recount, she would have to pay for it.

Wolgamott sent an official statement to KNSI News declaring victory.

“Thank you to the voters of District 14B for electing me to a fourth term as your State Representative. I’m ready to continue my record of standing up for police and first responders, defending reproductive freedom, and working with both sides of the aisle to get things done for St. Cloud.

I’m grateful to our coalition of volunteers, staff, and unions who worked tirelessly to achieve this victory. Serving as your State Representative is the honor of a lifetime and Iam so proud and excited to continue working for you at the Capitol.”

Wolgamott also said he outperformed the presidential ticket by 2.25%, which was the most of any other DFL candidate in the state.

Ek told KNSI she enjoyed door-knocking and believes it was pivotal in making the race close. “It was really fun talking to people, and they were very open. And I converted a few soft Democrats and independents. And it was really a good experience.”

He was first elected in 2019.

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