Why did the Minnesota DFL revoke Omar Fateh’s endorsement for Minneapolis mayor?

The Minneapolis DFL’s endorsement of state Sen. Omar Fateh in the city’s mayoral race sparked numerous challenges. On Thursday, the state DFL party took the unprecedented step of revoking the local endorsement.

Here’s what you need to know about the DFL’s decision.

Fateh, a democratic socialist challenging Mayor Jacob Frey, won the endorsement at the end of a Minneapolis DFL convention in July that saw dozens of challenges, delays and miscounted votes.

On Thursday, the state DFL’s Constitution, Bylaws and Rules Committee released a report that validated concerns about the electronic voting system used at the convention.

The move is expected to deepen the schism between the party’s left flank and its more moderate members.

The internal DFL report found that the electronic system used by the Minneapolis branch of the party at its convention was “substantially flawed.” The first ballot in the mayoral endorsing contest was undercounted by 176 votes, the state party said.

That meant mayoral candidate DeWayne Davis was improperly dropped from contention when he should have made it to the second ballot, the report said.

Other challenges pointed to ballots that initially omitted a “no endorsement” option mandated by the DFL’s constitution and a raise-your-hand-style vote near the end of the night that some people said violated several DFL rules.

Fateh supporters are outraged. Graham Faulkner, Fateh’s co-campaign manager, said the campaign sees the revocation as “disenfranchisement of thousands of Minneapolis caucus-goers and the delegates who represented all of us on convention day.”

“Twenty-eight mostly out-state, establishment Democrats, including many Frey donors and supporters, met privately and voted to overturn the will of Minneapolis residents,” Faulkner said.

Frey said in a statement he was glad “this inaccurate and obviously flawed process was set aside.”

“I look forward to having a full and honest debate with Senator Fateh about our city’s future, with the outcome now resting squarely where it should — with all the people of Minneapolis," he said.

The state DFL committee barred the Minneapolis DFL from holding another endorsing convention this year. It also placed the Minneapolis DFL on probation for two years and said it must be supervised by the state DFL’s executive committee during that period.

The decision may be appealed, with the Minneapolis DFL kicking it up to the state executive committee, according to a party official.