Minnesota Eligibility Case Dismissed

by Sharon Rondeau

(Jul. 1, 2022) — A challenge filed by Democratic primary candidate AJ Kern to compel the production of citizenship documentation from two fellow candidates in Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District has been dismissed by Judge Bridget Ann Sullivan on several premises.

In an opinion published Friday afternoon, Sullivan wrote that the Fourth Judicial District Court in which she presided over the case, conducted remotely on June 23, lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, cannot act due to the timing of Kern’s complaint, and cannot supersede the U.S. Constitution’s Article VI, clause 2 provision and state law that “the United States House of Representatives has final say over who is permitted to be a member of that chamber.”

“…to the extent a contestant raises issues other than who won the contest election, but does not contest who won said election, this Court cannot make findings or conclusions on those matters and, therefore, could not grant relief, as requested by Kern,” Sullivan wrote.

Kern filed her self-represented challenge on May 9, contending that neither Samuels, who was born in Jamaica, nor Ilhan Omar, the incumbent congresswoman who was born in Somalia, has presented proof that they meet the U.S. Constitution’s Article I requirement of “seven Years a Citizen of the United States.”

Further, Kern claimed, Secretary of State Steve Simon failed to perform his due diligence in ascertaining that Samuels and Omar meet the constitutional requirements of the office they wish to hold.

Omar is the two-term incumbent for the Fifth District seeking a third term, while Samuels, a former Minneaplis City Council and Board of Education member, is one of four primary challengers to the seat. On their respective websites, there appears to be no reference to their naturalization as U.S. citizens.

“In this matter, A.J. Kern brought a civil action to compel Representative Ilhan Omar and Don Samuels to provide their naturalization documents before their names may be placed on the primary and general election ballots for the upcoming elections to be held in Minnesota on August 9, 2022, and November 8, 2022, respectively, and to compel Secretary of State Steve Simon to require proof of the same before placing either candidate on said ballots,” Sullivan provided as “background” to the action (clarification text in parentheses omitted). “This matter may be resolved on purely legal grounds. Therefore, the details of Kern’s argument for why she is entitled to such relief are unnecessary to discuss at this juncture.”

Given the primary date, any “contest” to the primary election would have to be filed between August 16 and August 21, Sullivan wrote, referring to Chapter 209(C).32, subdivision 2 dealing with “election contests.”

Last month Omar’s attorneys requested the case be dismissed resulting from their client failing to receive service, which Sullivan granted in her order. “Representative Omar has not been individually served with this action and Kern has not filed an affidavit of proof of service or attempted service with the Court. Therefore, this Court lacks jurisdiction in this matter over Representative Omar,” Sullivan wrote on page 3, citing Minnesota statute 209.021, “Notice of Contest,” subdivision 3.

On May 6, Kern electronically sent a “Notice of Lawsuit and Request for Waiver of Service of Summons” obtained from the Minnesota Courts website to all three defendants indicating her case had been filed. In the notices, Kern cited Rule 4 of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure; Rule 4.05 is titled, “Waiving Service of Summons” and begins:

(a)Requesting a Waiver. An individual, corporation, or association that is subject to service under Rule 4.03 has a duty to avoid unnecessary expenses of serving the summons. A plaintiff may request that the defendant waive service of a summons.

Samuels, who did not appear at the hearing, joined Omar’s motion to dismiss.

On June 14, Simon, represented by Assistant Attorney General Nathan J. Hartshorn, had asked the Court to “dismiss the Kern’s contest as to the Secretary” [sic], citing jurisdictional and timing issues, a motion Sullivan denied in her ruling while stating he is not a proper “contestee.”