State board will count missing Minneapolis ballots in Coleman-Franken Senate race (Updated)

[Bjorn Against]

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

The state Canvassing Board has voted to count 133 missing ballots from a Dinkytown precinct, despite the objections of Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman.

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson told the board this morning that the ballots could be included, the second big victory for Democratic challenger Al Franken in his effort to unseat Coleman. "I believe there is authority ... to include the election night returns," Swanson said. The board seemed more than willing to accept the results, despite a 2002 case cited by Coleman where a court threw out 17 ballots that were tossed in a fireplace during a statewide recount.

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A separate but crucial opinion from Swanson's office says improperly rejected absentee ballots can be counted as part of a statewide recount. There are 638 of those ballots thus far identified by local elections officials in 49 of Minnesota's 87 counties.

Franken has argued that all properly cast ballots be counted, even if they weren't included in Election Day totals because of an election judge error. Coleman has objected to the counting of improperly rejected absentee ballots, saying they should be dealt with in an election challenge overseen by a court. Coleman held a 215-vote lead over Franken prior to a statewide hand recount getting underway. Just who is ahead at this point is unclear because the candidates challenged the validity of 6,655 ballots. More than 2,000 of those challenges have been withdrawn.

Read more: http://www.twincities.com/ci_11205362?nclick_check=1

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State official: Wrongfully rejected absentee ballots could total nearly 1,600

By PAUL WALSH and BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune Staff Writers

Last update: December 12, 2008 - 11:02 AM


Several hundred absentee ballots have been wrongfully rejected in the Nov. 4 election and that total could more than double by the time all Minnesota counties turn in their reviews, the secretary of state's office told a panel charged with overseeing the recount in the overtime U.S. Senate contest between Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Democratic rival Al Franken this morning.

The state Canvassing Board is methodically pushing Minnesota another step closer toward deciding who it elected last month to the Senate.

The board was told this morning that 49 of the state's 87 counties have examined 4,823 rejected absentee ballots and 638 of those were determined by local officials to have been wrongfully rejected.

Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann also reported that if that trend holds -- with more than 13 percent of the rejected absentee ballots tossed improperly -- there would end up being nearly 1,600 wrongfully set aside.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/36043514.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUs

While it looks like this will be going to court there is no doubt that this was a great day for Franken, and it is going to make it a lot more difficult for Coleman to disenfranchise the voters who legally cast ballots on election day.