Minn. Dems make push to oust Trump from ballot

Minnesota Democrats are lobbying to remove Donald Trump from their state’s presidential ballot, according to reports.

The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party has filed a legal petition with their state’s Supreme Court to oust the GOP’s presidential nominee, accusing Republicans of bypassing the democratic process, Politico reported Friday.

The party claims that the GOP did not properly choose alternates to its electoral college, so the entire slate of 10 electors, their alternates, and the presidential ticket should be thrown out. 

{mosads}“The Minnesota GOP did not elect alternate presidential electors at the state convention earlier this year,” Minnesota DFL Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement.

“After being notified that they had failed to provide the names of alternative electors by the Secretary of State’s office, Republicans decided to appoint alternate electors in a closed-door meeting rather than electing them. This is violation of state law.”

Martin filed a separate petition against Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon for accepting the appointed alternates, the Star Tribune reported Thursday.

Simon reportedly notified the GOP in August that they had failed to select alternates at the May convention. After the party’s executive committee met and chose alternates without the input of delegates, Simon accepted their new “certificate of nomination” later that month.

According to state law, electors and alternate electors must be nominated at an official state convention, the Star Tribune said.

“This language is clear is clear and unequivocal: Alternatives ‘shall’ be nominated — not unilaterally by party leaders — but by ‘delegate conventions,’ ” the petition reads.

“After the convention, the chair of each major political party must then certify the names of persons nominated as presidential electors and alternates at the convention, as well as the names of the party candidates for president and vice president to the secretary of State at least 71 days before the general election. The [GOP] executive committee is obviously not a delegate convention.”

The filings follow a dustup in August over the Republican presidential ticket’s initial absence from Minnesota’s ballot.

Trump and his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), were ultimately listed on the secretary of State’s website after Minnesota Republicans rushed through filing paperwork on Aug. 25.

Minnesota is gearing up for early voting, which starts Sept. 23.