MN State Rep Brad Tabke - July 24, 2026
Primary Voting & a Little Story Time
We had a bit of an issue with voting in Shakopee back in 2024. Minnesota state law required 46 days of voting before election day with the first 30 days as absentee voting (put your ballot in an envelope for it to be counted later) and the remaining 16 days where you put your ballot directly in the machine.
Our Shako City Clerk at the time didn't follow the guidance so I worked with Cities, Counties, and the Secretary of State to pass legislation that tightened up the laws so this kind of thing doesn't happen again.
One thing I learned in the process was how much money cities were spending on election administration for the full 46 days of early voting. In my legislation, we gave cities the option of doing the full early voting or just the 16 days of in-person leading up to the election.
Another thing I learned during the process is that you can never count on your opponent in an election to do the right thing - even if they are a cop. Mr. Paul had many times when he knew we won the election by a very slim margin and chose not to. It was super frustrating to me and I expected better. It would have been hard but it would have been right.
We'll come back to this later.
BUT - this one change in my bill is saving our Shakopee taxpayers over $100k this election and I'm proud of that.
Find all your voting information here -> BradTabke.com/Vote
In-Person Voting starts today
You can vote in the Primary starting today at Shakopee City Hall (485 Gorman St)! This is the early voting where you put your ballot directly in the voting machine and watch to see the number tick up that you've been counted.
I (Brad Tabke) am not on the Primary Ballot but there are lots of good reasons to vote.
DFL CD2 Primary - See below to get to know my friend Matt Little
DFL Senate - Angie v Peggy (choose your fighter)
Scott County Attorney - Highly recommend getting to know Allen Andersen
GOP side of the ballot has a big Gov and US Senate race (Note: You can only vote on the DFL or GOP side of the ballot - not both in the Primary.)
I HIGHLY recommend voting early. We're starting to see more ICE activity again in Shakopee and we don't know what the future will bring. Get your ballots in.
Early In-Person at City Hall
Weekdays from 8 to 430 pm
Saturday, August 8 from 9 to 3 pm
Monday, August 10 from 8 am to 5 pm
Primary Election Day - August 11
Your local precinct from 7 am to 8 pm
Absentee Ballots
There are reports in Shakopee that USPS has been slow in / not delivering absentee ballots. If you haven't gotten your requested ballot, call or visit Scott County Elections ASAP and let me know. I want to track this shit.
Drop-off (RECOMMEND) your absentee ballot at Scott County Government Center (200 4th Avenue West, Shakopee)
It is too late to reliably request an absentee ballot. Go vote early at City Hall.
Shakopee City Council Elections
For Shako elections this November, filing closes at 5 pm on Tuesday the 28th. The Mayor and two Council positions (Angelica Contreras and Dulaney) are up.
Mayor
There are currently two Mayor candidates - Angelica Contreras (BIG fan) and Matt Lehman (I beat Matt for my Mayor re-election with 89% of the vote!!)
Council
There are also two folks who have currently filed for Council - Jim Dulaney and Mustafa Sandhu. Both have very conservative positions on things.
If you have ever been interested in running for local office and want to continue seeing Shakopee move forward, now is the time, my friend.
MN CD2 Primary - Chat with Candidate Matt Little
Matt Little has been a friend of mine since we were baby Mayors together. Him in Lakeville and me here in ShakVegas. He's running for Congress to represent us in DC and I wholeheartedly endorse him.
See above for voting instructions for the Primary.
Watch my interview with Matt below.
Question of the Week:
Who are you voting for in the Primary on or before August 11, 2026?
DFL - US Senate
DFL - CD2
Scott County Attorney (nonpartisan)
GOP - Governer
GOP - US Senate
Click here to add your opinion on the Question of the Week.
Your thoughts: F*ck Flock
Last week's question results: What do you think about Flock cameras?
100% - The State of Minnesota should ban them.
0% - They are useful tools but need more guardrails.
0% - I don't have a problem with Flock cameras.
Strib: Police searched Twin Cities license plate cameras for immigration enforcement during ICE surge
Couple good nuggets about Shakopee PD here and my work to protect your private data from ICE and unwarranted use:
Shakopee requires a warrant from agencies that want to query its data unless there is a compelling reason it’s needed more quickly, such as a murder investigation, Police Chief Jamie Pearson said.
[Columbia Heights] department actually used Flock data against ICE by reporting stolen license plates on agents’ vehicles. The plates were then tracked down by Shakopee police, who cited the agents.
After his own interaction with ICE agents earlier this year, Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, introduced legislation to strengthen protections for license plate reader data. His bill, which died in committee, would have required a court order or warrant before police departments could share data with federal agencies or those in other states.
“We don’t know if this data is being used to track just everyday citizens as they are going about their daily business,” Tabke said, “or if it’s being used as was originally intended to solve crimes.”
Read the whole article here -> StarTribune
Finally - Shakopee City Council Revokes Baymont License
Last year, two people were found dead in the Baymont Hotel in Shakopee (Hotel with Muddy Cow) after they had rented out the entire hotel for a swingers party. We had been trying to get increased health code inspections there to no avail so I introduced a bill (HF5010) this year giving Shakopee the authority to be health inspector so they could attend to issues like this.
Those poor folks had been dead for days before they were found.
This week, Shakopee City Council had the opportunity to revoke their hotel license and did. Thank you for that action!!
BWCA
No Newsletter next Friday - hoping to be in the BWCA but we'll see what happens.
Tabke for MN Campaign Calendar
We win with door knocking. And we only won by 14 last time - so help me out. Click for details.
Don't forget to get your tickets for the 8/10 AYCE Sweet Corn and BLTs fundraiser. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year!
Tickets are $30 / Kids eat free. But if you can, donate $75 or more per person. You can get it fully refunded by the State through the PCR program. It's a good deal and helps us out a lot!
