Coleman Stalls Minnesota Recount Over Absentee Ballots

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the recount in Minnesota is stalling over absentee ballots. Democrat Al Franken wants all 1,346 of the ballots, deemed wrongfully rejected by the state, to be counted. Republican Sen. Norm Coleman has only agreed to 136.

With a Minnesota Supreme Court-imposed deadline approaching and sniping among lawyers increasing, the U.S. Senate recount stalled today as the campaigns for Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken remained far apart on an agreement for improperly rejected absentee ballots.

Lawyers for the two campaigns publicly bickered this morning at a meeting held by Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's office, with the Franken campaign saying Coleman did little over the weekend to help reach an agreement over how many of the disputed ballots should be counted.

At a mid-afternoon press briefing, Coleman campaign officials downplayed the significance of the morning meeting and said they expected that regional meetings beginning Tuesday to sift through disputed absentee ballots will be "very amiable."

Coleman campaign officials insist that nothing is wrong, saying that the meetings to negotiate the ballots will be "very amiable." But Franken's team is concerned.

"There was actually almost no progress made, to our dismay, over the weekend," a recount attorney for Franken told the Star-Tribune. "At this point, the process just seems to be broken."

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled recently that the discarded ballots should be counted, but only if both campaigns agreed the rejection was wrong.

Minnesotans are anticipating a long legal battle over the Senate seat. This weekend, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar argued that Franken should be seated first, if the state Canvassing Board declares him the winner.

Comments

[ElPerro]

Any guesses as to when Norm will be out on parole so I can buy a used car from him?

[LaurenMarie984]

Desperation..... a new fragrance, from Calvin Klein.

I guess Coleman's abandoned all pride and any chance of respectability for pity. He has managed to screw up the victim role approach, so now all he can hope for is people feeling sorry for such a pathetic politician. If that's his strategy then, well played Coleman.
.....Too bad Federal indictments and FBI investigations aren't swayed by the suspect's retardation. Look at Blagoekjhfdhgjhg

[OhComeOnNow]

Excellent!!

[Lemmy]

The day after the November election, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman had won his re-election to the U.S. Senate, beating challenger Al Franken by 725 votes.

Then one heavily Democratic town miraculously discovered 100 missing ballots. And, in another marvel, they were all for Al Franken! It was like a completely evil version of a Christmas miracle.

As strange as it was that all 100 post-election, "discovered" ballots would be for one candidate, it was even stranger that the official time stamp for the miracle ballots printed out by the voting machine on the miracle ballots showed that the votes had been cast on Nov. 2 -- two days before the election.

[Margo Arrowsmith]

What odd is that you think Coleman won the day after the election. You see Minnesota has a law that forbids calling a winner with such a close count. It has a state mandated recount.

Its been in all the papers, well maybe not the extreme right wing ones....

[Lemmy]

Statistics are interesting aren't hey?

[LeftRight]

And oddly enough, since there are MILLIONS of people living in MN, a difference of 725 votes (especially when Coleman had already gotten more than 5000 discounted as "questionable") is such a small percentage that the state law REQUIRED a recount.

Furthermore, the difference was NOT 725, it was less than 300.

In addition, there has NEVER been a time where they've "found" 100 votes (or ANY votes for that matter.....) where they were ALL for Franken!

The fact of the matter is that this is a state mandated recount, and they've been finding more votes for BOTH candidates, but Franken has received a larger share of those found, and therefore Coleman has been asking for votes to be thrown out when they are likely to go for Franken!

[lungfish]

the longer he can stay in the game the more money he can raise for his legal defenses...

[FZliveson]

I believe, as long as he is in office, he will not be removed to stand trial for corruption.
If this were to be the case, who would not want to wring every last drop of liquid from the
bar towel before departing?

[texasrodeoqueen]

Go away Norm Give it up Norm Slink on outta there Norm He is just trying to keep things in an uproar to keep Franken from being seated as Senator

[Telemachus]

I am totally flummoxed. If Franken is already ahead, and his "agreement" is required for ANY of the absentee ballots to be counted, why are we here? There are only 4 reasons why a ballot is supposed to be disqualified, and "coming from a Democratic-leaning district" isn't one of them. If Coleman wants to add that to the criteria ... well, there's the door, Norm.

[MuchMadness]

I would like to know why these "improperly rejected" ballots were rejected in the first place? Did the voters fold, spindle, or mutilate them? Seriously, how hard can it be to count some ballots? The government of Minnesota is looking completely ridiculous in its slowness and indecision.

[Martampa]

Apparently MN has learned from the best (worst) of them - FLORIDA.

[nick1936]

Why is it that the Repuks never want to count all the votes.

Norm belongs in jail why isn't he indited yet

[tcuoohjohn]

Because you can't spell indicted?

[LeftRight]

So because nick misspelled the word indicted, that's a reason to not count all the votes??

[DoTheMath]

Although that may be a reason not to give nick1936 100% on a spelling test, I doubt it explains the lack of an indictment. (I know - you just couldn't resist, could you? Well, neither could I.)

[BartLA]

Coleman better get Rick Warren to pray for him.

[texasrodeoqueen]

like that's gonna work let me tell you that I live in Rev Hagee's holy country and we are bein punished by God. We are in a critical drought and I guess the Rev's psycho prayers are not working.

[drzoon]

we need an ELECTION CZAR!

but not until we get our guy in the white house! i don't trust the republicans!

(don't forget the "brooks brothers" mob in miami!)

[fsmith]

Right.

And calling him "our guy in the White House" is exactly why the Republicans don't trust the Dems.

I'm an independent - that means I know neither of you can be trusted.

[LeftRight]

Good to know that you can look at a man who has broken every law he ever saw and started the USA on a path to destruction, and compare him UNFAVORABLY with a man who is a Constitutional scholar, has spent his life helping people, and has given EVERY indication that he will restore the USA to its proper place!

[BartLA]

Concede Coleman, you're toast. You should be indicted anyway.

And it's time the Republicans quit trying to steal elections. Maybe they should address as one of their agenda points, along with their racism, when they meet next month.

[hughbetcha]

I guess `stealing' an election means making sure everything is done appropriately to count the votes. If I recall, it was Franken who immediately reached for the lawyers when he was losing.

[LeftRight]

You mean how when the state determined that the election was so close that their laws required an automatic recount, and then Coleman began instantly to ask that votes be thrown out for his opponent, and Franken began asking that ALL the votes be counted, whether they were for him or for his opponent?? Is that the lawyers that you are talking about??

[khiva]

As usual, the Republicans will do anything to win an election except count the votes.

[fsmith]

Of course, the other side of that coin is the Dems wanted to "interpret the voters intention".

You're both nuts.

[bayside]

Is that whining..

[gilbertgrape]

Fight Norm!!! Don't let the Democrats steal another election.

[OhComeOnNow]

LMAO - nice satire...

[BWonka]

Poor sourgrapes... another day, another dumb remark.

[gilbertgrape]

Thanks BWonka, I can allows count on you for a truly stupid reply.

[indc]

Damn it, the Democrats are at it again, stealing elections by getting more votes... good thing we were able to derail this tactic and get Bush "elected" twice.... what will democracy come to if all the votes are counted.. there should be poll taxes and national heritage tests so things never get to this point again.

[milo h minderbinder]

Yeah, because counting all the votes is "stealing" and only counting the votes you know are for you is "honest".

The group that buys into Norm's spin is getting smaller by the day...

[Nofsdad]

What "other" election did they steal?

[virtualme]

Franken is 47 votes ahead after a careful recount process. If, despite the Supreme Court's decision that these absentee ballots should be counted in a way the candidates agree to, the Coleman campaign will not agree to criteria that allow this to happen, some voters who didn't follow the letter of the law in MN lose, the election can be certified, and Al Franken can find a place to live in D.C.! It's definitely time to move on.