The future for the tightly split Minnesota state legislature is in limbo, as a judge sided with Democrats in ruling that the state House needs a majority of all seats to do business. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that 68 of 134 House members are a quorum, meaning that the House’s 67 Republicans aren’t enough to make the House move.
Minnesota’s House deadlocked, with Democrats winning 67 seats and Republicans winning 67 seats. However, with one Democrat ineligible to serve due to residency issues, Democrats have 66 members and one vacancy.
Before the one Democrat pulled out, Democrats and Republicans reached a power-sharing agreement. However, Republicans signaled they would use their temporary advantage to elect a House speaker and put Republicans in charge of House committees. It’s a move that could prove difficult to reverse in a tied chamber, so Democrats decided to boycott.
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When the legislature started on Monday, Jan. 13, Republicans picked their House leader, Lisa DeMuth, as speaker. Democrats stayed out of the chamber, swearing in their members privately and staying out since then to avoid giving Republicans a quorum.
The judge did not definitively rule that the Republicans’ acts so far in the legislature were invalid. Instead, the judge urged Democrats and Republicans to negotiate a resolution.
While lawmakers expected the impasse to end after a special election on Tuesday, Jan. 28 to fill the vacant seat the state Supreme Court said Gov. Tim Walz called the election too early. The previous occupant of the seat was still in office at the time of the December announcement.
No date has been set, but an election is unlikely to occur before March.
And more House members could face elections before the next scheduled ones in 2026. Republicans have suggested they could file petitions to work toward holding recall elections against Democratic lawmakers boycotting the House session.
While lawmakers in other states, including Texas Democrats and Oregon Republicans, have boycotted to block the other party from advancing laws, Minnesota law allows for recalls if lawmakers do not perform the duties of their office.
