Minnesota Judges Expected to Rule Monday on Ballot Parameters

[babylonsister]

Minnesota Judges Expected to Rule Monday on Ballot Parameters
By Emily Cadei, CQ Staff


In an effort to accelerate Minnesota’s Senate election trial, the judges held a hearing Thursday to discuss the parameters for rejecting absentee ballots, a pivotal issue in the case to determine a winner in the 2008 race.

The judges invited attorneys for Democratic candidate Al Franken and his Republican opponent, incumbent Norm Coleman, to discuss 19 categories of rejected absentee ballots and whether they should be subject to review.

Predictably, the two sides had widely diverse interpretations of what should qualify as a “legally cast” vote.

The judges’ ruling on the matter, expected Monday, will shape the nature of the trial going forward, providing a framework for the type of rejected ballots likely be ruled valid.

Franken’s legal team argued for a strict interpretation of the requirements absentee voters must comply with, saying nearly all of the categories the judges proposed were correctly rejected. Coleman’s attorneys countered that voters should only have to prove “substantial compliance with the laws,” and argued that ballots in all but four of the categories should be counted.

Coleman trails Franken by 225 votes out of 2.9 million cast, based on recount results certified Jan. 5. Coleman filed suit the next day to challenge that outcome.

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http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000003031086

[ColbertWatcher]

1. WTF!? I hope this isn't just more GOP changing the rules when they're losing. n/t

[babylonsister]

2. They're trying to...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5039685&mesg_id=5039685