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Error In The Minnesota Gubernatorial Election Of 1962, Charles H. Backstrom

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

ABSTRACT - In the election recount for the governorship of Minnesota in 1962, 1,423 ballots out of 772,994 paper ballots cast (0.18%) were ultimately ruled invalid. Of these, 51.6% were voted for Rolv.aag, the DFL candidate, although 9,981 fewer paper ballots were cast for him than for Andersen, his Republican opponent. Still this was not a sufficiently greater rate of invalidity to cancel Rolvaag's initial lead of 133 vot-es established by a physical recount of all ballots-he had a final plurality of 91. Rolvaag won because more· voters voted for him. Andersen would not have won even if all ballots …