Trump Campaign v. Simon

In July of 2020, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon decreed that the deadline for receiving mail-in ballots would be extended to handle the extra strains of COVID and postal issues. The Trump Campaign filed lawsuits in state and federal court claiming that Simon had no legal authority to do that. This is the state case, filed with the the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Respondents' primary argument was that if the Trump Campaign had a legitimate complaint, why didn't they file it in July when the decree was issued rather than in late October, less than a week before the election? They argued the Trump Campaign had "hope that, after election day, a court will discard the segregated ballots and disenfranchise the voters who cast them, even though they were cast in reliance on the postmark rule in place since August 3 and the ballot instructions."

Meanwhile, the related federal case, Carson v. Simon was appealed to the 8th Circuit Court, where it was ordered that the original mail-in ballot deadline be enforced. The purpose of this lawsuit having been settled already by that other lawsuit, the Trump Campaign withdrew this lawsuit as moot. Secretary of State Simon argued against the Trump Campaign's attempt to withdraw the lawsuit, saying "This is the second time that challengers to the consent decree have asked this Court to review the consent decree on an expedited basis, only to ask the Court to dismiss their challenge days later. [...] Minnesota voters and election officials would benefit from the clarity that would come from an order by this Court on these issues." Chief Justice Lorie Gilden granted withdrawal.