Recount scheduled for Minneapolis DFL state House primary election

A recount for state House seat 59B will be held Thursday in Minneapolis, paid for by candidate Terra Cole, who came in second.

By Joe Kimball

Aug. 22, 2012

A recount in the DFL primary for state House seat 59B will be held Thursday in Minneapolis.

In the Aug. 14 primary, Raymond Dehn beat Terra Cole by 19 votes. That was a 0.8 percent difference, which doesn’t fall within the 0.5 percent standard for an automatic recount.

But Cole requested a recount and will pay $1,500 to Hennepin County to pay for it, the Secretary of State’s Office said.

There was no DFL endorsement in the race.

The recount starts at 10 a.m. at the Minneapolis Elections Warehouse, 732A Harding St. NE.

In an email to supporters, Cole said:

“I am very pleased with the work that my campaign has done thus far but it is not over yet. We will await the results of the recount and regardless of the outcome, I know that I did all that I could do in order to serve the people and the district that I love so much.”

The recount won’t determine eligibility of voters or check for spoiled ballots, but Cole raised the possibility of an official contest of the election, depending on the results.