Frey Campaign Files Endorsement Challenge with the Minnesota DFL State Party

The challenge is one of several being filed by other candidates for citywide offices, former state DFL Chair Mike Erlandson, and dozens of other delegates to the Minneapolis DFL City Convention

Today, the Frey campaign filed a challenge to the Minneapolis DFL City Convention’s endorsement results for mayor with the state Minnesota DFL Party.

The challenge is one of several being filed by other candidates for citywide offices, former state DFL Chair Mike Erlandson, and other delegates to the Minneapolis DFL City Convention.

The core of the campaign’s endorsement challenge centers on the high number of missing or uncounted votes produced by an untested electronic voting system, developed by a volunteer, used in the balloting for the mayor’s race at the Minneapolis DFL City Convention. The electronic voting system failed and crashed during the convention. Only 578 votes were recorded in the mayoral ballot conducted using the electronic balloting system, despite the fact that over 1,000 delegates and alternates were checked in at the time of the first ballot, including at least 750 delegates and upgraded alternates. As of 9:20 p.m., hours after the first ballot for mayor, there were almost 700 delegates and upgraded alternates, substantially more than the 578 votes recorded on that vote.

Campaign Manager Sam Schulenberg: “Everyone who endured this multi-hour convention process deserved to have their voices heard. DFL leaders, delegates, and voters across our city and party are filing challenges to ensure that the inaccurate balloting of the convention does not create a permanent rift in our party. In an overwhelmingly Democratic city like Minneapolis, there is no reason to push through a DFL endorsement using a highly flawed process that clearly missed or did not count a large percentage of the votes cast.”

Below is the text of the challenge, the original document can be downloaded here.

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Frey Endorsement Challenge:

There were several well-documented problems with the 2025 Minneapolis DFL City Convention that have left many longtime DFL volunteers and supporters unwilling to participate in or volunteer with the party going forward. By far the most egregious failure of this convention was the fact that hundreds of votes were missing or uncounted in mayoral balloting due to the breakdown of the electronic voting system, which the Minneapolis DFL and Convention leadership acknowledged was highly flawed.

Missing Votes & Breakdown of the Electronic Voting System

Everyone could tell that something was wrong when the first ballot results for the mayoral endorsement were announced — because there were only 578 total votes recorded in the tally (including abstentions). The idea that such a small number of eligible people cast their votes in the mayoral ballot is the most consequential problem with the entire convention, because it’s fully implausible.

Over 1,000 delegates and alternates were checked in at the time of the first ballot vote, including at least 750 (likely higher) delegates, upgraded alternates, and DPLs. There is no plausible reason why over 20% of delegates/upgraded alternates would skip voting on the most hotly contested, highest-interest business of the convention. 

The idea that only 578 delegates/upgraded alternates cast votes on the first ballot is also thoroughly debunked by the fact that the final credentials report showed that even several hours later, after many delegates had left, there were far more than 578 delegates and upgraded alternates. Upon the final credentials report of the convention at 9:20 p.m. — after many delegates had already left — there were still 865 people who would have been able to cast a vote on the first ballot under the rules of the electronic balloting system (including 699 delegates and upgraded alternates). It is completely implausible to suggest that there were that many delegates and upgraded alternates at 9:20, but that hundreds fewer delegates were present and voting during the first mayoral ballot several hours earlier.

Either the electronic balloting system did not correctly tabulate and record hundreds of votes that were cast, or the electronic balloting system malfunctioned so badly that those votes were never received by the system in the first place. In either scenario, the failure is disqualifying for the results.

Such a large counting error, both as a raw number of votes and as a percentage of the total votes, would require intervention under any circumstances, but this is especially true considering that three candidates were dropped by the results of the first ballot, including one candidate who finished below the drop rule threshold by a margin of 1 vote (not 1% — 1 vote).

The large number and percentage of missing/uncounted votes alone necessitate overturning the results of the mayoral endorsement. But the concerns with the implausibly low number of votes are further compounded by the well-documented fact that the electronic voting system malfunctioned so badly that the convention had to ditch electronic balloting entirely, underscored by the hours-long delay in getting the first ballot results, the overwhelming number of delegates who reported repeatedly that they did not receive confirmation emails after casting their votes (including delegates who checked their spam folders), and the fact that the Chair of the Minneapolis DFL himself acknowledged the system was flawed to the convention.

The dubiously low vote count and the well-documented technical failures caused many of our campaign’s delegates to leave the convention. They were fed up, disillusioned with the process, and lost faith in the idea that their votes would be accurately counted and the convention would be conducted equitably and accurately. Under no circumstances should a ballot riddled with so many accuracy and technical failures have been accepted and used as the basis to drop candidates and proceed to a second ballot.

Non-Compliant First Ballot without “No Endorsement”

Additionally, the first ballot, conducted using the flawed electronic balloting system, also failed to include the mandatory “No Endorsement” option. This is a direct violation of the DFL Constitution and Bylaws, which explicitly states that the “No Endorsement” option “must appear on all printed or electronic ballots” (Article IV, Section 3).  After this error was pointed out by delegates on the floor, the Minneapolis DFL redid the form, but many delegates had already submitted votes and/or reported that the corrected option never appeared. The non-compliant ballot design on its own would invalidate the results. There is no way to verify just how many ballots were cast and counted without the option for no endorsement appearing on those ballots. Combined with the missing/uncounted votes and the other systemic failures of the electronic balloting system, they render the crucial first round of balloting wholly unreliable.

Alternate Voting

During the first ballot, the convention allowed and encouraged every alternate to vote regardless of upgrade status. Alternates voted alongside delegates in real time, with the justification that the electronic system would automatically upgrade those next in line if a delegate did not vote. This is in direct violation of DFL protocol, including the separation seating provision (see Article V Section 6 and page A-4 of the DFL rule book). There was no verifiable, reliable system in place to track which alternates were properly upgraded during that vote, particularly given that the electronic voting system clearly did not correctly record and/or capture all of the votes.

The Role of Amy Livingston

The first ballot of the mayoral endorsement vote was administered electronically through a system designed and implemented by Amy Livingston. Due to her documented misconduct involving delegate and alternate manipulation at other DFL events, Livingston entered into an agreement with DFL Code of Conduct Committee not to participate in these kinds of roles at DFL conventions. Her direct involvement in the setup and administration of the voting system at this convention is a blatant violation of that agreement and casts a long shadow of impropriety over the process. Livingston’s abrupt departure from the convention prior to the announcement of the first ballot results also sowed mistrust with our delegates in a way that damaged our campaign’s ability to get our delegates to stay at the convention.

No Verification

As alluded to in the section about the failures of the electronic voting system, a majority of delegates and alternates never received an email confirming that their votes were cast, despite being told they would. This left a majority of delegates and alternates unsure of whether their vote was actually cast and counted.

Delegates Access & Credentials Process

Additionally, there were numerous well-documented reports of delegates and alternates who were inexplicably removed as delegates or downgraded before or at the DFL Convention.

Several precinct delegations did not match the documentation presented by convention chairs on caucus night. Furthermore, large numbers of alternate delegates were turned away from the credentials table when they tried to receive upgraded credentials because they were told that the electronic voting system would automatically upgrade them, so there was no need to physically swap out their delegate badge. However, this left many alternates who were eligible to be upgraded unaware of their delegate status and without the proper delegate badge to vote in the final, rushed rounds of voting that took place towards the end of the proceedings, which required raising delegate badges.

Specific Remedy Sought

Immediate invalidation of the DFL endorsement for Minneapolis mayor and restoration of  equal access to state Minnesota DFL Party databases and resources for all DFL candidates running for mayor. Due to the high number of challenges that have already been submitted by delegates and candidates for other offices impacted by the conduct of the convention, and given the extraordinary importance and interest from the public and the press, we are requesting expedited, emergency review from the Minnesota DFL. All parties involved, and DFL voters in Minneapolis, will benefit from swift clarity on this matter.

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Related: An Endorsement Without Voting: Fateh Chosen by DFL Convention Chair (Mpls Times)

Related: Frey Campaign Files Endorsement Challenge with the Minnesota DFL State Party (Mpls Times)

Related: Minneapolis DFL convention mess does not befit a great city (Strib)

Related: Why electing Omar Fateh mayor of Minneapolis is a bad idea (Strib)

Related: Challenges to Minneapolis DFL convention claim flawed voting process, lack of quorum (KSTP-TV)