Entenza complaint against state auditor dismissed
Published 10:04 am Monday, July 28, 2014
ST. PAUL — A legal complaint accusing State Auditor Rebecca Otto of misrepresenting her record has been dismissed.
A three-judge panel for the Office of Administrative Hearings dropped the case Thursday against the auditor, who is a Democrat. The campaign of primary opponent Matt Entenza filed the complaint over a post by Otto on her campaign’s Facebook page about a vote in 2003 for a voter ID law when she was a state legislator.
Otto said she didn’t support a photo identification requirement, but Entenza’s camp pointed to legislative votes that she did.
The administrative judges found there was insufficient evidence to conclude Otto knowingly gave false information.
“There are no disputed facts in the case,” the panel wrote, “only different interpretations of the meaning of the phrase ‘voter ID.”’
Otto is trying to stave off a political challenge by Entenza in the Aug. 12 primary as she campaigns for a third term. Republican Randy Gilbert, Libertarian Keegan Iversen, the Independence Party’s Patrick Dean and the Grassroots Party’s Judith Schwartzbacker will face the Democratic primary winner in November.
Otto said the ruling was vindication.
“I have never voted for voter ID,” Otto said. “In fact, I campaigned against it. So I am pleased that the panel of judges agreed so resoundingly that they rejected all of Mr. Entenza’s claims. I will continue to focus on my job of watching out for the best interest of the taxpayers of Minnesota.”
Entenza campaign manager Dave Colling said the issue won’t go away.
“While the case was dismissed because of her confusion over the term ‘voter ID’, it doesn’t change the fact that Rebecca Otto supported voter ID,” he said.