Response from a County Auditor Declining Guard the Ballots, Unlawfully

See below for actual response today from a county auditor: This is a typical kind of response the people have received over the last 4 years, when you would expect those administering elections to be happy to be observed given that everything is above board, right?

In this case the county auditor hides behind a specific clause within the demand within 209.05 (Guard the Ballots).

Is it perhaps more likely that the county auditor did not want to honor the request, reason unknown, and proceeds to omit that the fact that the custodian, when asked for, was never given by the county auditor's office itself?

With the quite secret nature of absentee ballot boards (where absentee votes are counted and tallied, often at the county level only and not within cities or towns), why is it so difficult for citizens to have any oversight of this process at all? Why are ballots tabulated before the close of polls. Why has at least one county attorney already said it is too difficult to enter those tallied ballots into the state's database (so that all results can be reconciled prior to certification)?

The below letter is already grounds for contesting the election in that county according to Minn Stat §204B.44 Errors and Omissions, but also shows that this particular auditor, and not the only one, are not interested in transparency nor in following election laws on the books.

We are in receipt of your candidates demand to guard the ballots pursuant to Minnesota Statutes section 209.05. Because your candidate has not provided adequate notice to the ballot custodian or the other candidates in their race, we must deny your request.

Minnesota Statutes section 209.05 permits a candidate or their agent to keep guard over ballots only if they make a demand to the appropriate ballot custodian and provide notice to the candidate’s opponent. The purpose of the demand and notice requirements is to allow the ballot custodian and other candidates sufficient time and opportunity to designate their own ballot guards, as required under the law. As a result, any demand to guard the ballots must be made on the specific individual with custody over the ballots and any notice to the candidate’s opponents must identify both the specific official with custody over the ballots and the specific locations to which ballot guards will be deployed.

We have reviewed the materials that you provided. The notice your candidate provided do not identify the specific custodian of the ballots that is intended to be guarded or the particular locations to which the candidate intends to send ballot guards. As a result, these individuals have not been provided adequate opportunity to designate their own guards. We therefore cannot allow the candidate or their agents to guard the ballots at this time. We are happy to revisit this issue if your candidate submits a revised demand and notice.

In addition, please note that designated agents to guard the ballots must present a signed authorization from the candidate specifically identifying what ballots those agents have authority to guard. A general authorization to all Minnesota counties to guard ballots will not suffice.

If you have additional questions, it would be best for your candidate to address those questions.