Franken asks board to count absentee ballots before recount

[RiverStone]

Source: StarTribune.com

Armed with four examples of what it said were absentee ballots that were illegally disqualified, Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken's campaign stepped up pressure Monday to keep the state canvassing board from certifying the disputed U.S. Senate race until all such discrepancies were resolved.

The rollercoaster Senate race continued with mulitiple press conferences, court filings and accusations on the eve of a state canvassing board meeting to certify the election, and with a statewide recount scheduled to begin Wednesday.

Franken's campaign filed an 18-page legal brief that, among other things, said the four examples were discovered as part of a formal request for information from county election officials that the campaign made a week ago, and which could signal that many other absentee ballots were illegally disqualified.

In one instance, according to the campaign, Jessup Schiks of Kandiyohi County had voted by absentee ballot, but had his ballot rejected because officials ruled the signature on the ballot did not match Schik's signature that was on file with the county. The campaign said Schiks had since signed an affidavit confirming the ballot was his.

In all four cases, according to affidavits filed by each voter, they said they voted for Franken but had their absentee ballots rejected.



Read more: http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/34607244.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUs

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No stone is being left unturned to see that there is a full accounting of ALL votes in MN. Keep the faith Al! :thumbsup:

[lisa58]

1. I'm glad I sent him money for the recount - looks like it's being put to good use.

[IsItJustMe]

10. I did also and I am glad of it. Sometimes little things can make a big difference.

[K8-EEE]

11. I did too! I LOVE THAT HE'S A FIGHTER.

GO AL GO!!!!

[EFerrari]

2. I gather Al now understands election fraud.

Kick their @sses, Al!

[bleever]

4. He's getting the crash course,

that's for sure!

[bluesmail]

3. Florida Redux

DU wants a different ending. No to 'selecting' Coleman.

[Omaha Steve]

5. MoveOn: Al Franken needs our help

You've probably heard the news: Al Franken is just 206 votes away from winning back progressive hero Paul Wellstone's Senate seat for Democrats. A recount of Minnesota's 3 million votes begins next week, and an initial canvass found hundreds of previously undercounted votes for Franken.1

Franken has a great shot: political website FiveThirtyEight.com (one of the most credible number-crunching sites) wrote this week, "Evidence points on balance toward Franken being a slight favorite to win the recount" and possibly "the prohibitive favorite" if all the votes are properly counted. 2

But Republican incumbent Norm Coleman has already gone to court once trying to block vote counting—and he announced that over 100 lawyers will help him mount legal challenges.3 Franken needs money to fight back.

And that's not the only major opportunity in the Senate. In Georgia, Democrat Jim Martin could defeat another Republican Senator in a big run-off election taking place in three weeks.

Can you help Al Franken and Jim Martin raise the funds they need to win these important races? Click here to learn more and contribute:

https://pol.moveon.org/give/postelection08.html?id=15122-3297678-FvgBDox&t=1

Barack Obama will need every Democratic senator he can get in order to pass a bold agenda on issues like the economy, health care, clean energy, and the Iraq war.

Just this week, some top Obama aides went down to Georgia to help Jim Martin win.4 And Al Franken's campaign announced, "We're dispatching observers and legal help to every recount table in the state to ensure that every vote is counted properly. And it means that we have to keep our campaign up and running."

Now is the time both campaigns really need our help. Can you chip in? Just click here:

https://pol.moveon.org/give/postelection08.html?id=15122-3297678-FvgBDox&t=2

Thanks for all you do.

–Eli, Adam R., Nita, Adam G., and the rest of the team


Sources:

1. "Coleman leads Franken by 206 votes," Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 11, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51026&id=15122-3297678-FvgBDox&t=3

2. "More Minnesota Madness," FiveThirtyEight.com, November 10, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51019&id=15122-3297678-FvgBDox&t=4

"Minnesota Recount: Number of Discrepancies May Be Low," FiveThirtyEight.com, November 11, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51020&id=15122-3297678-FvgBDox&t=5

3. "Coleman campaign asks Ramsey County judge to halt count of 32 Minneapolis absentee ballots; request denied," St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 8, 2008
http://www.twincities.com/ci_10936725?source=most_viewed

"Getting all lawyered up for Senate recount," Minneapolis Star-Tribune, November 12, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51022&id=15122-3297678-FvgBDox&t=6

4. "Obama aides heading to Georgia for Martin," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 11, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51021&id=15122-3297678-FvgBDox&t=7


PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

[usregimechange]

6. Count the votes, its that simple.

[Raster]

14. Count the votes. Count ALL the votes. It's that simple.

[LisaL]

7. He needs to take this to court.

Officials rule the signature didn't match? What are they, writing experts?

[aquart]

8. Fight till the last vote is counted.

Looks like someone learned the lessons of history.

[onehandle]

9. Go Al! nt

[DallasNE]

12. Esoteric Technicalities

There aren't enough details to judge on whether the technicalities are even applicable to the ballots in question. On the voter they rejected saying the signature didn't match, was it because one signature included "Jr" while the other did not or was the original signature 25 years old. And was the person making this judgement a qualified handwriting expert. This was a totally subjective call. The other one on the girlfriend as a witness; my guess is it is being challenged because she witnessed a signature prior to registering herself. Otherwise, they don't have a leg to stand on. The courts need to say enough is enough and end these disenfranchisement cases. There is no attempt at fraud in either case making these ruling look completely political rather than legal.

[PinkyisBlue]

13. Al, you're good enough, you're smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like you!

And a full counting of all the votes will show that people not only like you, they vote for you. Never give up, this is an important one.