Best Practices

The League of Women Voters of Minnesota provides an excellent, nonpartisan resource on Minnesota's elections, voting, and procedures, as well as the safeguards that ensure the integrity of Minnesota’s elections.

Another excellent resource is a series of articles written by Max Hailperin about Minnesota’s election system.

Audits & Recounts

Coordinating Audits and Recounts to Strengthen Election Verification

Just released 11/3/2022
This paper, coauthored by Verified Voting and Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota, describes how audits and recounts work together to bolster public confidence in election results. Elections need both audits and recounts, and they need audits and recounts to work well together. 

2022 MN Audit Report

2022 Post-election review report

Report on Minnesota's 2022 Post-election Review

In 2022, CEIMN partnered with the League of Women Voters Minnesota to organize an observation of the post-election review (PER) and report its results. This report includes a detailed summary of the PER results, information on the observation, and recommendations for improvement of the audit process. 

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Download our Recount Principles and Best Practices document (pdf)

This document addresses a wide range of recount topics, including initiating mechanisms, funding, transparency, impartiality, counting methods, targeted recounts, and rules for determining voter intent.

CEIMN convened four nationally recognized, bipartisan authors and a blue-ribbon panel of advisors to distill their extensive recount experience into key principles and best practices. The authors of Recount Principles and Best Practices are:

  • Mark Ritchie, Minnesota Secretary of State, who chaired the five-person State Canvassing Board that oversaw the 2008 U.S. Senate recount     
  • Sam Reed, former Washington Secretary of State, who oversaw the 2004 Washington gubernatorial recount     
  • Jane Platten, former director of Cuyahoga County Ohio Board of Elections    
  • Mark Halvorson, founder of Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota and creator of the CEIMN searchable database of state recount laws.

The report was reviewed by a blue-ribbon panel of advisors, including election officials, election integrity advocates, journalists, and academics.  “Accurate and verifiable elections are essential for our democracy,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Ritchie. “This document and its recommendations will improve the way state and local election officials conduct recounts.”

CEIMN, a nonpartisan organization, was founded in 2004 to promote verifiable, transparent, and accurate elections. CEIMN has collaborated on other election reports including Principles and Best Practices of Post-Election Audits, released in 2007.