What to expect in the House special election for Melissa Hortman’s seat

WASHINGTON AP Control of the Minnesota House of Representatives will once again be at stake Tuesday in a special electoral contest to replace Melissa Hortman the former Democratic state House speaker who was slain along with her husband at their home in June The balloting takes place three months after the killings as the accused gunman faces both federal and state murder charges that could effect in the federal death penalty The suspect is also charged with the attempted murders of a Democratic state senator and his wife Republicans now hold a - seat edge in the state House If Democrats hold Hortman s seat in the heavily Democratic district the chamber will once again be tied at - A Democratic vacancy earlier in the year prompted a Republican attempt to take control of the legislative body but a boycott by House Democrats led by Hortman eventually resulted in a power-sharing agreement between the two parties Running to replace Hortman are Democrat Xp Lee a former Brooklyn Park City Council member and Republican Ruth Bittner a real estate agent seeking her first elected office Backed by the state party Lee won the Aug Democratic primary with of the vote over Brooklyn Park City Council member Christian Eriksen and Erickson Saye an associate attorney in the Hennepin County attorney s office Bittner was unopposed for the Republican nomination Related Her mirthful eyes her sharp humor Colleagues remember Melissa Hortman assassinated at age Hortman won reelection to the seat in November with of the vote Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris carried the district with of the vote far better than the she received statewide in the contest against Donald Trump the Republican nominee The district includes the communities of Brooklyn Park and Champlin in Hennepin County and Coon Rapids in Anoka County Democrats have the biggest advantage in Brooklyn Park where both Harris and Hortman received about of the vote Champlin is the bulk competitive Harris and Hortman both won there with roughly of the vote Brooklyn Park has by far the largest presence in District B comprising of the district s precincts and about of the district s total vote Two precincts are based in Coon Rapids and one in Champlin The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap If a race has not been called the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments such as candidate concessions or declarations of triumph In doing so the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why There are no automatic recounts for state legislative races in Minnesota A losing candidate may request a publicly funded recount if the margin is less than of the total vote The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome Here s a look at what to expect Tuesday Special electoral process day The special electoral contest for state House District B will be held Tuesday Polls close at p m local time which is p m ET What s on the ballot The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare a winner in the state House special polling Who gets to vote Any voter registered in state House District B may participate in the special balloting What do turnout and advance vote look like There were nearly voters registered in House District B in the general polling Turnout was about of registered voters in the general referendum and about in About of ballots in were cast before Voting Day compared with about in the midterm elections As of Thursday ballots had been cast before Referendum Day of which came from Hennepin County The remainder came from Anoka County How long does vote-counting usually take In the general voting the AP first announced results in District B at p m ET The tabulation ended for the night at a m ET with more than of total votes counted Are we there yet As of Tuesday there will be days until the midterm elections The post What to expect in the House special voting process for Melissa Hortman s seat appeared first on MinnPost