A trial that kicked off Monday in Shakopee challenges the result of the year’s closest Minnesota House race that could swing partisan control of the chamber. A batch of mishandled ballots is at the forefront. GOP candidate Aaron Paul contested the election outcome that determined that DFL Rep. Brad Tabke came out ahead by 14 votes. Paul and GOP officials said the results in House District 54A should be reversed and a special election called in the district since 20 absentee ballots were cast but not counted. Scott County officials announced last month that the absentee ballots from Shakopee were accepted in October but not counted. The ballots and their secrecy envelopes were likely thrown away accidentally between the time they were submitted and Election Day, according to a preliminary investigation. They said the ballots are unlikely to be recovered in a way that could prove they had not been tampered with. How to handle known information connected to those ballots was on the mind of the judge, attorneys and others before testimony began. On Thursday, the Scott County Attorney’s Office informed Judge Tracy Perzel that it believes it has identified the voters who cast the missing ballots, although not with 100% certainty. The office is seeking a way to share more details with the parties to the case, but not in a way that could threaten the privacy of the voters. “The county is concerned that given the small pool of names it has identified, making those names publicly available would infringe on the voters’ rights to anonymity in their voting (if for instance vote totals change based on court decisions) and that they could be subjected to unwanted attention, contact or even harassment,” Assistant County Attorney Jeanne Andersen wrote in a letter to the judge. The letter adds, “This is particularly troubling when the county is not absolutely certain these are the individuals connected to the ballots in question (while the county believes its working theory of what happened, there is no definitive proof it is what happened).” Andersen said a protective order is necessary to limit the amount of information released. Tabke’s attorney, David Zoll, sent a separate letter to Perzel urging an order that excludes identifiable information from exhibits made public during the trial. Perzel issued an order late Sunday restricting identifying information about the voters. “We live in times where political division has devolved increasingly to threats of violence and actual violence,” she wrote. “The political climate is simply too charged to allow public identification at trial of these lost-ballot voters, some of whom may testify for Paul and others of whom may testify for Tabke, as reflected on the parties’ witness lists.” On the challenge in general, Tabke and his attorneys argued that the results of the election should be allowed to stand since it is unlikely that nearly all of the missing ballots would be cast for Paul, changing the election’s outcome. Roseville race also under review Another case is also under review in House District 40B in Roseville. Republican Paul Wikstrom challenged the result in that race, alleging that Democrat Curtis Johnson didn’t abide by state residency requirements. Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro has taken the case under advisement and could issue findings or an order at any point. A ruling that favors Republicans in either case could shift the chamber to GOP control. DFL and GOP leaders said they were planning for a power-sharing agreement when the legislative session starts next month, with members from each party evenly represented on committees. But those talks are on hold as the court cases advance. Johnson’s legal team filed a petition Friday saying it wants an appeals court to consider whether Wikstrom’s election contest came too late. It’s similar to an argument made to Castro, who allowed the case to move ahead. In the petition, Johnson attorney Rachel Kitze Collins said if Wikstrom’s side had suspicion or knowledge of residency doubts as much as six months before the election it should have brought a case sooner. The attorney said the case “will have major implications for residency challenges going forward.” And, Kitze Collins wrote, “The court should not countenance the monthslong delay in bringing a challenge until it was apparent that the contest could upset the balance of power in the Legislature.” Related Articles Politics | Minnesota failed to recover $40 million in Medicaid overpayments, audit finds Politics | Scrap metal industry sues state, saying new copper metal law will shut down its industry Politics | MN set to have $616 million surplus, but $5.1 billion deficit looms in years ahead Politics | Michaud, Todd: How St. Paul can find a good way forward from its fiscal ailments Politics | Minnesota Republicans sue to force election rerun in tight House race where 20 ballots are missing