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Rep. Pinto

Dear Neighbors: 

Yesterday I joined my DFL colleagues in denying a quorum in the Minnesota House. A denial of quorum has happened in many other states (most recently last month in Michigan [ [link removed] ]), but I don't believe that it's happened before in Minnesota. I'm writing to share why my colleagues and I took this necessary step and provide important information about what is happening in the House. 

As I explained in my update on Monday [ [link removed] ]: In November, Minnesotans elected an equal number of DFL and Republican representatives. These included DFL Rep. Brad Tabke from Shakopee, whose election was then challenged. 

Yesterday morning, a_ court overruled the challenge [ [link removed] ]_ and found that Rep. Tabke had indeed won the election. But House Republican leadership has nevertheless said that if they were to obtain a quorum, they would disregard this ruling and block Rep. Tabke from sitting as a legislator. They've also indicated that they would refuse to seat the winner of an upcoming special election in Roseville (a likely DFL-held seat). As with President-Elect Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, this would overturn the will of thousands of voters in these two districts - an outrageous action.  

More broadly, as I_ further explained on Monday [ [link removed] ]_, House Republican leadership would use a quorum now to seize and retain power for the full, two-year legislative term - even though the parties' votes will be equal for almost all of the term. In the state Senate, Republicans and Democrats have negotiated an agreement under which control will shift based on the number of votes. Despite_ multiple offers from House DFL leaders [ [link removed] ]_, House Republicans refuse to do the same. 

Secretary of State Steve Simon presides over the House until the election of a Speaker. After convening the House, he found that a quorum was not present and adjourned as required by law. House Republicans then took over the rostrum and conducted a sham election for Speaker - a shocking and unconstitutional move. As Secretary Simon explains in_ this statement [ [link removed] ]_, the election was not valid, and House Republicans' actions since then have not been legal. Both Secretary Simon and House DFL leaders have petitioned the state Supreme Court to confirm this, which I hope will rule quickly. 

While we deny quorum in the House chamber, please be assured that my House DFL colleagues and I continue to work hard on your behalf. Among my activities on the first day of session were consultations with Mayor Carter and Ramsey County leaders, and I continue to be available to connect with constituents and others as well. Please feel free to contact my office. Email is usually best, but you can leave a voicemail as well.

Ramsey County
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Mayor Carter meeting

This is a challenging time for our state. Again, please know that I'm doing all that I can to reach an agreement that upholds the rights of voters and the sanctity of our elections. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.

Dave Pinto  
State Representative, District 64B  
503 State Office Building
(651) 296-4199 

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