One of the candidates for the Cass County recorder position has been forced to drop out of the race.
Karen Sauer of Fargo said she withdrew her name, "not intentionally," but because a provision in the home rule charter makes her ineligible to run. The provision says candidates must be continuous residents in the county for at least six months before filing nomination papers.
Sauer moved to Fargo in March and said she checked into residency requirements before filing. She said the only requirement County Auditor Michael Montplaisir told her about was that she needed to be a Cass County resident 30 days prior to the election.
Montplaisir was not in the office Wednesday.
Recorder candidate Jewel Spies sent a letter to Montplaisir a few weeks ago, alerting him to the provision and asking that he look into the matter.
ADVERTISEMENT
Sauer said she filed for the race in good faith with every intention of running and has since spent about $1,000 and countless hours on her campaign.
"I understand that anyone can make a mistake, but I feel that it was Mr. Montplaisir's job to know that that ruling existed," Sauer said.
Since the primary election ballots have already been printed, all three names will be on the ballot when voters go to the polls in June, said Election Coordinator Sheree Calkins.
The county recorder is responsible for recording legal documents. The recorder also maintains and preserves an archival copy of those records for public use, files personal property liens in a statewide central indexing system, files wills for safekeeping and runs the recorder's office.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Tracy Frank at (701) 241-5526
