Coleman And Franken Make A Deal

Minnesota Public Radio reports that Sen. Norm Coleman and challenger Al Franken have struck a deal on disputed absentee ballots in their recount.

The plan they've submitted, which must be reviewed by the Minnesota Supreme Court, would count rejected absentees only if both sides agree they were wrongly cast aside.

The proposal draws out the process past the high court's end-of-the-year deadline. It could leave Minnesota without a decision on who won the race until after the new class of Senators is sworn in on Jan. 6.

Ritchie said concluding the work in time for the new session of Congress is not something he's at all concerned about.

"We've been really clear in saying our top priority is accuracy and transparency and the timing thing is just not our issue," [Secretary of State Mark] Ritchie said. "I want to put an underline, we don't care as long as it's accurate and we've done it in an accurate and transparent way. We don't care when it's done."

Coleman, meanwhile, lost a bid to have 16 discarded challenges reconsidered. His only current hope seems to lie in dubious legal maneuvers, such as using the Election Day results over the recount results in 25 specific precincts.

UPDATE: The Minnesota Supreme Court has granted a request from the Franken and Coleman campaigns to approve a framework for counting wrongly-rejected absentee ballots.

Comments

[Soundofthunder]

This debacle is a clarion call for computerized ballots with paper backups like we have here in Illinois. That will cure people of their doodling and double voting habits, pronto. Sadly, it does nothing to throw out Governor F-Bomb.

SOT

[bygollymissmolly]

I disagree. Computerized ballots are too easily flipped. And having a paper backup isn't going to do any good if they aren't counted after a vote is flipped.

[Soundofthunder]

There is no "flipping" on the Sequoia machines. You SEE the print out BEFORE you cast the ballot. If it's in anyway incorrect, you go back, change your vote then get a fresh print out. The flaws of the hand written ballot system are starting to outweigh the flaws of the computerized system, given a reliable paper record, which is possible.

SOT

[rem]

As a computer professional, I have great reservations about computerized ballots. Unless the process is transparent and auditable we risk our democracy. Typically computer managed ballots are neither.

[GotRights]

How is this "deal" different from what the Supreme Court of Minnesota already mandated?

[bygollymissmolly]

It isn't.

[amdezurik]

both parties have now stipulated it so they will not argue about it, it is not a "deal" but the head-line writer probably didn't know how to express it properly. A lot like how Global Climate Change became Global Warming, shorter and it distorts the message...

[beckerbeavers]

The Minnesota voter's right to cast a vote and for it to be counted is what America is all about. Forgot partisan politics - the process of recounting the votes and reviewing the absentee ballots so that a fair and honest judgment can be made trumps everything.

[truthglow]

No matter what, NO ONE should trust Coleman. He is not in the least trustworthy.

[Okieborn]

The Repubs. are on the back of their heels about to fall !!!
Go Al Push till you win !!!!

[Oldhippy39]

I live in Minnesota. I voted for Dean Barkley. If Coleman wins by one vote, (not real likely at this point)
I will be very disappointed.

[MsLiz]

Disappointed? More likely embarrassed and ashamed, Oldhippy! Merry Christmas and may the Wise Men bring you some Al Franken'ssense.

[GotRights]

"I voted for Dean Barkley. If Coleman wins by one vote, (not real likely at this point)
I will be very disappointed."

If Coleman wins by one vote it will be your fault.

[trollsbwild]

If you judge the behavior of the Republicans, this is the second most important election of 2008. Al Franken scares the hell out of them. For that reason alone, nothing would please me more than for Al to win.

GO AL GO!

[argent1]

3 years for Franken and three years for Coleman

[Yermammy]

NO, 6 years for Franken and 20 to life for Coleman.

[trollsbwild]

Exactly.

[SparkyDash]

word

[DACC]

So, specifically what is the deal?

[Danny Boy]

The deal is that the two campaigns will decide on a ballot-by-ballot basis whether the ballot was wrongly rejected or not. There can be no shenanigans unless the campaigns use some type of x-ray machine to read the sealed absentee ballot before deciding.

[paulalex]

Funny you should mention using x-ray's because Al was spotted wearing a new type of glasses today that seem really bulky. They also have wires coming out of them which are connected to a pack on his back that has radioactive stickers all over it.

[bygollymissmolly]

Unfortunately there can be shenanigans because they will know where the vote came from. Coleman can refuse to count a ballot from a heavily Democratic district. But, it's my understanding that if they choose to not count a ballot, they have to give a reason and those reasons will be published. If the reason is not one of the four reasons for disallowing an absentee ballot, it will become very apparent that the candidate not agreeing to count the ballot is trying to game the system. I'm betting that candidate will not be Al Franken.

[Demoid]

Who cares if they cut a deal between themselves? Elections are supposed to be governed by law; not what the candidates agree to.

[Bubba Gump]

Amen! The election should be ALL VOTES that are valid, not just the ones Coleman and Frankin agree too. Time for a judge, the legislature, or the governor to take over.

[amdezurik]

BUZZZZZZZ you both LOSE!

Thanks for playing "I have the Attention Span of a Gnat"! We would give you the Home Version but it seems you both already have it...

[bygollymissmolly]

They had no choice. This is what the court told them they had to do.

[jmundstuk]

This may be an example of tragic history repeating as farce.

If the Instant Runoff system were in force in MN, this would not be happening. The third-party-guy's votes would have been redistributed to their second choice and that, as they say, would have been that, almost certainly.

True it requires additional thought on the part of voters, but that shouldn't be a problem, should it?

[indypete]

I've often thought there should be some kind of "second choice" system built into the ballots for just such an eventuality. (Don't ask me how it would be done.... I'm a retired musician, not a political scientist!)

[motley2]

..."ranked-choice" ballots...used all over the world.

[MsLiz]

I dunno, somebody voted for the Lizard People.

[jeremiahos]

The Minnesota recount just goes to show how far our system of voting is in the hole.
Personally, I want Franken in office. But if Franken wins, then it only proves my point further.

[shrinkwrapped]

I agree. This mess in Minnesota is the quintessential example of voting problems in America.

[BaileyWo]

In Ohio they just rig the vote and if the engineer threatens to open his mouth they just cut the fuel line on his plane.

[MsLiz]

Why? It's not a matter of fraud or voter suppression, it's just a close vote. Some people don't know how to fill out ballots, or don't care, but that's just because they are a few standard deviations from the mean. This election is going by the book, as far as I can tell.

[kevenseven]

What in the hell are you talking about? The two candidates are separated by less than a hundredth of a percent!

Obviously this would be messy. I bet you faint at the sight of blood, as well.

[Yermammy]

ssssssssssssssccccccccccccccccccccvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv... sorry, I just feinted over READING about blood! :)

[3dogman]

To vietveter,
"VOTE AT MCDONALDS
YOU ARE THERE FOR 5 MINS' AND YOU GET WHAT YOU ORDERED
the result goes into their computer and you get a receipt"

I boycott all fast food including Mac's for lots of reasons, one of which is because you usually end up with the bag they gave you, which is not what you ordered.

[Ranta]

Both sides must have more parameters than ,"would count rejected absentees only if both sides agree they were wrongly cast aside."
For example, In Duluth their are 127 absentee ballots that were rejected because they didn't have a date on them. This was a clear error by the election judge. The Duluth area generally votes Democrat two to one. What is to prevent the Coleman forces saying they won't accept these ballots?
Franken could try not accept ballots in counties outside of Ramsey (St.Paul), Hennepin (Minneapolis) and St. Louis (Duluth), the rest of the state generally being Republican?

[Bitsko]

At this rate, the deciding vote will be cast tomorrow by the baby Jesus from his little crib.

[suzycolorado]

Are you saying that the babyjesus is the new Decider?

[LDnearthesea]

Well, the Decider certainly thinks God or Jesus talks to him! That's the mark of a deranged man, of course.