2024 State Elections Team

Something we’ve gotten used to in the 21^st century is elections being followed by lawsuits. Fortunately, Minnesota has capable legal staff to deal with election-based litigation.

From late 2023 through 2024, the State Election Team handled about 30 cases that they saw as a threat to voters’ rights, a challenge to state laws, or that otherwise sought to disrupt the process.

The team consists of: Assistant Attorneys General Angela Behrens, Nathan Hartshorn and Allen Barr; Justin Erickson, general counsel for the Secretary of State’s office; and Lauren Bethke, deputy general counsel for the Secretary of State’s office. The team works year-round, with the same primary members in place.

In Minn. Voters Alliance v. Hunt, the team defended the Restore the Vote Act, which re-enfranchised people who have completed their felony sentence. A district court upheld the law, and the case eventually resulted in an appellate decision that clarified the doctrine of taxpayer standing.

“That was the biggest expansion of voter rights in the state’s history, so of course there were legal challenges to that,” said Behrens.

In Minn. Voters Alliance v. Ellison, the team successfully defended Minnesota’s law prohibiting election misinformation. The team also defended lawsuits that involved plaintiffs seeking voter registration data, challenging the witness requirement for absentee ballots — a pending case in which the team successfully petitioned the Minnesota Court of Appeals for discretionary review — and challenging the state’s process for cross-referencing voter registration records with other states’ records.

When a panel of the Eighth Circuit held that the Voting Rights Act did not provide a private right of action, the elections team filed an amicus brief supporting rehearing.

Regardless of the size of the election, Behrens said her team will remain vigilant.

“If there’s an election, we’re there,” she said.