Minnesota ruling favors Franken as recount looms

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Sen. Norm Coleman has failed in an attempt to block some absentee ballots from being counted in his close race with Democrat Al Franken.

A Ramsey County judge on Saturday denied the request because of lack of jurisdiction. The incumbent Republican had tried to block 32 ballots from heavily Democratic Hennepin County.

Coleman's campaign says the ballots were not counted on Election Day or were not kept in sealed boxes. It says the request was made amid "increasing questions about unexplained and improbable shifts in vote counts."

The most recent vote tally has Coleman leading Franken by only a couple hundred votes. A recount is planned.

Comments

[LemonMeringue]

Go Al.

If they need money for yet another recount I'll give.

[VTya]

Ditto! Votes must be counted! I want Al to win sooooo bad! It will mean more power for Dems ... and for Saturday Night Live! (Tina Fey helped to slay the Palin dragon.)

[leatherneck1971]

Yes something is suspicious in the voting in this case and it is not Franken, but the republican I suspect who are well known for stealing elections, disenfranchisement issues to cut down on democratic votes, a election this close is going to be something to watch!

[JulieSA]

Look, I grew up in the Texas Democratic party, and I can tell you all the cemetery residents vote Dem. Stealing elections is an art perfected by Dems like LBJ and Richard Daley. The Washington governor race in 2006 was blatantly stolen.

[nomobull]

proof or hush

[JohnFromCensornati]

LOL. You grew up in the Texas Democratic Party? What do those people call themselves now? Republicans.

[veracity]

Excuse me, Julie... you are of course refering to the "STOLEN ELECTION!" that Lyndon allegedly stole to win in 1948.

BUT! what this LEGEND of Johnson's "Stolen Election" fails to bring to public attention is - that is was a DEMOCRATIC party PRIMARY election, and that Johnson's rival, former Gov. COKE STEVENS, was a career long racist.
ALL RACIST CANDIDATES in Texas (and throughout the South) BENEFITTED FROM A _FAR GREATER THEFT_ of votes: Segregation, of course, made it difficult or IMPOSSIBLE for Black and Minority voters to vote.

Specifically, DISENFRANCHISING Black & minority voters was in EXPLICIT DEFIANCE of the 15th, FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT to the US Constituion, which said in PLAIN ENGLISH, "THE RIGHT TO VOTE _SHALL NOT BE ABRIDGED_ on account of RACE, class, or previous condition of servitude."

The MYTH of Johnson "stealing" elections, OVERLOOKS THE FAR MORE IMPORTANT FACT, that Johnson was THE CANDIDATE SUPPORTED BY TENS OF THOUSANDS of ILLEGALLY DISENFRACHISED Black & Minority voters, and if THEIR votes HAD BEEN COUNTED, he would have won a CRUSHING VICTORY over the Bigot Stevenson.

[McNuts]

Let's see, who pushed through the Make Sure America Doesn't Fully Vote Act. GOPS! No doubt you also equate five or six Mickey Mice being erroneously registered with GOP efforts to suppress millions of votes nationwide with onerous ID requirements and eight hour lines.

[Dystopic]

Well, the republican party in texas gerrymandered the districts to completely favor rethugs. The dead my vote in Texas, but the stupid changed the board to suit their game.

I would take LBJ over Tom DeLay any day

[ThinkForYourself2]

If you believe that electronic voting fraud doesn't exist then the video below is for you. It's time to stop using Ralph Nader and Third Parties as a scapegoat for the 2000 and 2004 elections and start looking at the actual cause.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzBI33kOiKc

"The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected. To take away this right is to reduce a man to slavery, for slavery consists in being subject to the will of another, and he that has not a vote in the election of representatives is in this case." Thomas Paine

[freddymedal]

I think there were votes shaved off this election from Obama. I just don't really think the nation is so closely split as in the popular vote. I just can't get how people can so easily vote Republican after what's been going on over the last 8 years, and what the Republican congress ran through during Clinton years with their Veto Proof Majority. Pretty vicious & careless group. Moral Majority my butt.

[VikingQuest]

Something doesn't smell right about this recount, the guy running it takes money from ACORN and ballots are popping up days later in the back of people's trunks . . . of course all for Franken.

[hey0there]

lol well the GOOOOOO ACORN I say!!

[Gericault]

Why is it that it's always the Democratic votes that get misplaced or undercounted?

.

[AmbivalentGuy]

Recounts are run by election officials - government employees.
How is it that they are taking money from ACORN?

And, BTW, they wouldn't accept the trunk full of ballots I drove up there.

[miranda2060]

Oh, gaaaawd, are we still caterwauling about ACORN??? Along with Ayers, Wright and every other b.s. smear, it didn't work, and it's OVER!

[TocinoHumano]

I've heard of beating a d.e.a.d horse, but you're beating the horse's grave. It makes you look f.o.o.l.i.s.h. I mean, even more than you already are.

[IvanRott]

AL! AL! AL! AL! AL! AL! AL! AL! AL! AL!

[Viper]

The democratic party has a lot of undeducated voters. Of course those with that quality are called candidates in the repubulican party.


Regards

[The Impartial]

Yes, almost like your incumbemt president, Right?

[yoshi99]

Umm -- I think Viper was making fun of the 'publicans. He/she seems to be saying that there are some dumb dem voters out there. The 'publicans, however, take their idiots and try to put them in charge.

[CR46]

Do you mean "uneducated" !!! LOL !!! I guess this democrat has had abetter education than you!!! GO AL GO!!!

[trinity]

Why is a Republican afraid of absentee ballots? Since many of them are military votes (which are "supposed" to be Republican) or seniors (again "supposed" to be Republican), they are usually highly prized.

[AmbivalentGuy]

And why would any politician even suggest that a single vote not be counted!

Maybe he's afraid of the military vote because of the Rep record on the VA.

[yoshi99]

Because republicans only like democracy when they win.

[blastit]

alot of people in the military are not voting rethuglican also alot of dems voted absentee because they didn't trust the machines, all those ballots favor dems not rethugs.

[USMC1980]

I don't know who is shitting themselves more....O'Reilly or Coleman:)

[Crozier]

Senator-elect Al Franken, D.,MN will be the final straw for Bill O LIE LY . He will have lame duck Norm Coleman on his program to vent his spleen.....should be interesting on You Tube....I never give my television a virus or pneumonia by watching Fox.

[CR46]

Maybe they ban both borrow some of McCain's depends!!!! LMAO

[asta1968]

I'm looking forward to watching fox......They're already spazzing. They can't seem to make up their minds how to respond.....show respect or contempt. Ann Coulter can't hold a civil conversation with anyone even with her hero Junior (bush) in the White House. Can't wait for the next four years!Also, anyone who thinks they have a lot in common with people like Rush Limbaugh.....look at the lifestyle he's gained for himself by being hateful, divisive and selfish.......what was the last thing he did for people less forturnate than himself?
You go USMC1980 bravest in the world......my baby bro (sgt. USMC) gearing up for a third tour (Afghanistan again I think). Pray for him and his platoon, they are all brave and selfless, being asked to do things the rest of us can't imagine.....I pray they all come home safely.

[AmbivalentGuy]

Go Al
you're good enough, you're smart enough
and, dog gone it, those votes are out there!

[Okieborn]

IF AL FRANKEN IS ROBBED OF HIS SENATE SEAT AMERICA WILL ONCE AGAIN BE ROBBED OF HONESTY AND TRUST IN WASHINGTON !!!

[Crozier]

This is Minnesota.....the land of Hubert Horatio Humphrey and Walter Fritz Mondale.....both men who served as US senator from MN and vice president of the US. It was also the state where Paul was senator. Unfortunately, it was the state who elected a dumbarse independent for governor when Paul died.

At his funeral, the dumbarse governor was miffed that grief turned "partisan" and that in retaliation, he appointed someone to warm the seat. The Party asked Fritz Mondale to come out of retirement. Norm Coleman was an opportunist Democrat-t­urned-Repu­blican who presented a moderate face while in reality bending over for the neocons in the past six years. I look forward to his defeat.

Al Franken and Norm Coleman are both Jewish-Americans and so Coleman's chutzpah does not work on another member of the tribe......LOL.

[Soulsurfer]

I really admired Paul Wellstone, and still wonder about his untimely death. Remember how the wingnut press made a big deal about his funeral turning into a "Democrtatic Party Rally"?

[miranda2060]

There are many articles speculating on the circumstances of Wellstone's death.

[PuddyKatz]

Democrats should be allowed to steal an election every now and then. It's only fair!

[somsoc]

When you win in a lawful recount, as we would have in Florida and possibly Ohio if those recounts had gone forward without RNC interference, that is no stealing, that is following the law. Something Republikans fail to understand or follow.

[Crozier]

NO, PUDDYKATZ, ........FRANKEN HAS MORE CHUTZPAH THAN COLEMAN.....AND THEY ARE BOTH MEMBERS OF THE TRIBE....YOU KNOW DON'T YOU ?

[The Impartial]

Not "to steal" but to get fair and clean election.

[biglover]

I hope that we can somehow figure out a way to have a uniform election system in every state and a way to accurately count all votes without computers that can be hacked. Everyone has a right to have their vote counted correctly and this way when someone wins there won't be anymore of this uncertainty. Surely we can do this. I hope Obama before he leaves office in 2013 he finds a way to accomplish this.

[courageunderfire]

There is more hope, I LOVE IT!!! I truly hope we can send Franken to Washington. While there is no replacement for my hero Paul Wellstone, I do believe that Franken would do a great deal for the state of MN as well as for the country. Come Al, let's find more votes that were 'hiden' and get you in Washington!!!

[karela]

For those who might be concerned about too much power in the democratic congress, I'd offer this thought. Obama is very aware that the republicans messed themselves up by over reaching and he doesn't intend to do that because it would spoil long range plans for helping the country recover. If things get too out of hand, the president still has the veto. I'd much rather trust Obama than the Republicans in the Senate who spent the past two years obstructing EVERYTHING. (Remember the solid year of fillibustering every vote in order to force immunity for telecoms?) McConnell made it back to the Senate and he's the republican leader who orchestrated all their fillibusters. There are already a large group of them who have begun their ugly work of trying to tear down anything Obama might do. Obama says he needs the sixty seats to do the best job he can. I say that we should do everything we can to give him the tools he needs. Please donate to the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee if you possibly can. Many of us have been giving every penny we could for well over a year and are tapped out. If you haven't, or if you can find some cash, please help.

[Viper]

actually Repugs did not overreach. Can anyone name any thing they did in the last 8 years but create disasters?


Regards

[Mason]

Not satisfied with the disasters they created in the ordinary course of destroying our Republic, the Republicans overreached to cause bigger disasters.

[olephart]

They lost the 2006 and 2008 elections! Ha, thought you'd catch me. See they have done something good for the country.

[ron071]

In Minn. we have yet again an example of the pathetic voting process which just can't seem to get it right. Why, in this era of electronic advancement, is a simple tabulation exercise so " difficult " to accomplish? The answer to this question reveals what is really wrong and it is a lack of honesty and fair play. Simple tabuation and adition ought not be too difficult if the will is there for an accurate vote count.

The answer to this shameful situation is a federally controlled and standardized voting process which is divorced from state manipulations. The Oregon model ( 100% mail- in voting ) ought be quite possible and far more accurate.

[larmarch5]

If we can mail in or email our income tax returns, we should be able to use the same processes to vote.

[somsoc]

In Minn. the real question is just how stupid and bigoted are they that they would re-elect Bachmann?

[clarinetmama]

Because Stearns County, which is a large chunk of that district, is predominately Catholic and conservative. I used to live there and I know their one-issue mentality. And the anti-abortion Catholics of central Minnesota would send a monkey to Congress if she was a staunch anti-abortion candidate.....but, of course she'd also have to be a REAL American.