Franken Files Lawsuit Seeking Information About Rejected Absentee Ballots

St. Paul, MN (AHN) - Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party candidate Al Franken filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking information about rejected absentee ballots in Ramsey County. The suit was filed the same day Minnesota election officials underwent training for the statewide recount scheduled next week.

In a statement, Franken spokesman Eric Schultz said information provided by some counties showed that some absentee ballots had been wrongly rejected. The lawsuit does not seek to have the ballots counted, he added, and the campaign simply wants to find out what absentee ballots were rejected. "The Franken campaign maintains its position that every vote properly cast should be counted," he said.

The campaign said an absentee ballot in Beltrami County was rejected because the signatures of the voter on the envelope did not match with the one on record. The reason was that the voter had suffered a stroke.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) said in a statement Franken is "shamelessly trying to strong arm local officials into counting invalid ballots in order to influence the outcome of the recount." Saying voter information should remain private, the senator added, ""We have grave concerns that the private information requested by the Franken campaign could lead to the harassment of Minnesota voters through visits by Franken campaign or Democratic Party operatives to their homes."

The manual recount of all 2.9 million votes cast in the contest between Franken and Coleman is scheduled for next Wednesday, a day after the State Canvassing Board certifies election results.

The two candidates are only 206 votes apart. A recount is required under state law in races with margins less than one-half of one percent of the vote.

Results of the recount are expected to be submitted on Dec. 5. The State Canvassing Board will then meet on Dec. 16 before completing the recount on Dec. 19. The recount is expected to cost the state $90,000.

Several counties, including St. Louis and Wright, have not made clear if they will hold the recount, Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann has told the Pioneer Press. The recount of ballots in such counties may be conducted by the secretary of state's office or other counties.

On Thursday, election officials participated were given a brief training by state elections director Gary Poser. He is quoted by the Minnesota Public Radio as saying during the session, "The only ones who can handle the ballots are you, as the recount official and anyone who you authorize to handle the ballots... It's not to determine who is eligible to vote.... if campaign laws were violated... if the absentee ballots were accepted or rejected properly. It's not to determine if the election judges made any mistakes in administering their polling place. We are simply recounting the ballots."

Minnesota's Senate race is the most expensive Congressional contest this cycle, with Coleman having raised $19 million and Franken $17 million for a total of $36.2 million. It is also one of three races, the others being re-election bids of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Ted Steven (R-AK), whose results are still unknown. Democrats currently have a 57-vote majority in the Senate, so wins in all three races would give them the 60-vote filibuster-proof majority they are hoping for.