U.S. Senate Seat In Minnesota Still Undecided
Norm Coleman And Al Franken Manuver To Gain Stategic Advatage
Dec 18, 2008
The 2008 Minnesota U.S. Senate election took place on November 4th 2008, but the answer to who will occupy that coveted seat for the next six years is still a matter of debate as the Minnesota State Canvassing Board had to continue the election process by Minnesota State statute, due to the margin of current U.S. Senator Norm Coleman's certified victory. And because Coleman won by less than one-half of one percent of the nearly 3 million ballots cast, the Canvassing Board had ordered a by-hand recount at 120 polling locations across the state which began November 19th, and was largely completed by December 5th.
The Five Piles Of Ballots
However the election continues because some recounted ballots were in need of further review, so the five-person Canvassing Board made up of the Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson, Justice G. Barry Anderson, Ramsey County District Court Chief Judge Kathleen Gearin, and Assistant Chief Judge Edward Cleary decided that all the recounted ballots should be placed into one of five piles. The first votes for Franken, the second votes for Coleman, the third votes for Independence candidate Dean Barkley and anyone other than Franken or Coleman, and the fourth pile, a.k.a "As Yet Undetermined," was sent to the state capitol for sorting by the Canvasing Board, in an attempt to determine individual voters intent, which is expected to be completed by Friday. With the Fifth and perhaps most important pile consisting of wrongfully rejected ballots, that were improperly removed by state election officials and could number as high as 1,600 ballots.
Both Franken And Coleman Maneuvering For Votes
Earlier in the week the Franken campaign won two important Canvasing Board ruling victories, the first involved 133 misplaced ballots that were not counted from one Minneapolis precinct and the second involved a unanimous recommendation from the Canvassing Board that all counties include absentee ballots the were unfairly rejected, a move that is seen a crucial to the eventual outcome of the race. In response the Coleman campaign through its legal team has gone before the Minnesota State Supreme Court asking for a stop to all counting of these wrongfully rejected ballots, until clear guidelines can be put in place. Although a decision on these matters could come as soon as the end of the week, no one knows for sure when the Minnesota Supreme Court will rule on these guidelines. So between tallying the wrongfully rejected absentee votes and further legal challenges, this is one election that could drag on a few weeks longer.
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