Husband orders Greenwood Township Clerk to stop election recount
TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2018 — Greenwood Township Clerk Sue Drobac attempted to begin conducting a recount of the votes cast in the March 13 election for the Greenwood Supervisor position #3 and Greenwood Supervisor position #5 on Tuesday, April 3. The recount never really got fully underway, however, and Clerk Drobac declared the recount meeting closed, upon prompting from her husband, Mark Drobac, just minutes after 1:00 p.m., when the recount was scheduled to commence.
Twenty-some township residents gathered to watch the recount and were chatting amicably amongst themselves. Two election judges, Carol Maus and Mary Richard, were seated at the front of the town hall and looking at magazines at the table where the Greenwood Township Board of Supervisors conducts its regular meetings when Clerk Drobac entered the room just before 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon and placed what looked like a 12-inch, by 14-inch, by nine-inch corrugated cardboard box on the table. The box was clearly sealed with postal style packing tape. The town clerk began to utilize a sharp tool to cut the tape on the box when long-time Greenwood resident Jeff Peterson stood up and voiced concerns about the clerk’s opening the box. There are procedures which should be followed in conducting an election ballot recount and Peterson asked the clerk if she had actually read them. The 33 page document published by the Minnesota Secretary of State provides clear advice for anyone directing or involved in an election recount, down to and including how ballots are to be laid on the table. “I know you have a copy of it, because I saw it on your desk when I was in your office last week. Have you read it?” Peterson asked Clerk Drobac.
Peterson told the clerk’s office last week that he would be representing Byron Beihoffer, the reported winner of one of the two Supervisor’s seats, when the recount was conducted. Gary Skogman was on hand to represent Larry Tahija. It is not known if John Bassing, or Rick Stoehr appointed any representatives or intended to represent themselves. Peterson is a well known attorney, long practicing law in Virginia while residing on Lake Vermilion. He made it clear that he was serving as Beihoffer’s representative, observing the recount, not as his paid attorney. Beihoffer’s and Peterson’s position has been that they want to see a fair and open recount of the ballots—nothing more.
In Minnesota election recount procedure candidates, or their representatives, are allowed a front row seat to the recount. As election judges review each ballot for voter intent a candidate, or recognized representative, has a right to challenge the judge’s decision. When a ballot is challenged, new specific procedures commence on how that ballot is handled.
Peterson continued and asked the Greenwood Clerk to prepare the room with space for the representatives to observe the recount procedures and to consider following the Secretary of State’s guidelines moving forward and to stop opening the ballots when Clerk Drobac became agitated.
“I am running this meeting and I don’t need any attorneys here,” Drobac said. She apologized and acknowledged that she has made mistakes following her receiving the two requests for a recount, but remained firm that it was up to her on how she would conduct the recount and that she was in charge. The clerk then defended the election judges, emphasizing that her chosen judges were honest.
Mark Drobac, Clerk Drobac’s husband, who was in the audience as an observer, called for the meeting and recount to be over. The Clerk then began to push the manila envelopes she was removing from the box, back into the box, and began to tape it shut. I moved from my seat, towards the head table to take a photograph of the clerk taping the box shut when she yelled that she was not happy with me either. At some point while she was retaping the box the clerk declared, ”This Meeting is Over,” and exited the town hall carrying the box into the township offices.
The entire attempt to recount the ballots in two races for two Supervisors Seats lasted about four minutes.
Speaking with Peterson following the recount meeting, he said, “I was only making a suggestion on procedures, not asking that the recount be stopped.”
On Wednesday, the Greenwood Township Clerk called for another Ballot Recount, this one to be held at the Greenwood Town Hall at 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon on Friday, April 6.Readers interested in the process details of Minnesota election recounts can find the Secretary of State’s 2016 guidelines here: http://www.sos.state.mn.us/media/2370/recount-guide.pdf