ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Supreme Court was asked to throw State Senator Gene Dornick off the August 9 primary ballot because, it was claimed, he doesn’t live in the redrawn Senate District 23. In the 2021 statewide redistricting, Dornick, a Republican elected from Hayfield, found his Hayfield address suddenly moved to District 27. In response at the time, Dornick said he was moving 46 miles to Glenview to comply with a requirement that a candidate must be a resident of the district for at least six months before an election. The redistricting pitted Dornick, a first-term senator, against fellow Republican Carla Nelson, a 12-year Senate veteran. Although Dornick had said he would move to Glendale, his statement of candidacy on record with the secretary of state lists Brownsdale, which is 11 miles from Hayfield.
Sleuthing claims
The petition to the Supreme Court offered these claims as evidence:
> May 8: Keith Haskell visited the Glenville property and found “a home under reconstruction with bare walls, un-taped sheetrock, empty electrical boxes.” There was no evidence that anybody was living there or actively working on the house. The lawn was not maintained. There were no vehicles. There was a generic piece of mail in the mailbox addressed to “Current Resident’ postmarked April 13
> May 25: Haskell video-taped the Brownsdale house, which he said appeared unoccupied.
> June 16: Haskell and Carol Linde drove to the Brownsdale house and found no evidence of anyone was living there. They cited “a clear lack of activity.”
> July 15: Haskell and Judy Kay Olson drove by Dornick’s Hayfield address and saw children’s toys, a dog, and several vehicles parked in front.
> July 15: Haskell, Linde and Olson drove by the Brownsdale address and saw “no human activity.”