Almanac: At the Capitol

So the recount is over.  Sort of.  Maybe.  Officially.  Unofficially.  Welcome to the world of covering this Senate race and recount. The reality that is warped by the spinmeisters each day has been dizzying.  Jay Weiner over at MinnPost has as raw and real a first-person account as any reporter could possibly give.  Kudos to him for the bravery it takes to speak the truth.  I have been reamed by both sides myself plenty this campaign and he points out their strengths and weaknesses.

Now to the daily spin from both sides.  Coleman's arrived first and provided the most brevity, so he's first up:

MINNESOTA COUNTIES’ RECOUNT COMPLETED

Coleman Campaign Thanks State’s Local Election Officials For Their Efforts

ST. PAUL - The Coleman campaign released the following statement from Cullen Sheehan, campaign manager:

“With Wright County completing its recount, an important phase of the Great Minnesota Recount has ended.  While we are pleased that we remain ahead in this recount, we want to give our thanks and appreciation for all Minnesota’s local election officials for their commitment to a fair, legal and transparent process.  We are confident that when the Canvassing Board begins meeting on December 16^th and ultimately completes its work, that Norm Coleman will continue to be ahead, and will be re-elected to the United States Senate.  This recount process showed the best of Minnesota with the commitment of election officials to do their best to give the best possible result for the citizens of the state.”

TODAY: FRANKEN HOLDS 4 VOTE LEAD OVER COLEMAN AS HAND COUNT ENDS
As of this writing, every precinct in the state has completed its hand count - with the exception of the precinct in Minneapolis where 133 ballots are missing. And, at the end of the hand count, Al Franken leads Norm Coleman by 4 votes. Many media outlets are calculating the margin by a different method, relying on raw data from the Secretary of State's website to conclude that Coleman holds a lead of a few hundred votes. However, that calculation leaves out a Minneapolis precinct of 2,029 votes which is still being counted. It also assumes that every challenge will be upheld by the state canvassing board, whereas our calculation assumes that the original call by the impartial election judge will stand. So, if the judge calls it for Franken, we say it's a Franken ballot. Likewise, if the judge calls it for Coleman, we treat it as a Coleman ballot - even if we have challenged it.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/1208/At_end_of_recount_Franken_camp_claims_fourvote_lead.html

SECRETARY OF STATE KEEPS MINNEAPOLIS PRECINCT OPEN DURING SEARCH FOR 133 MISSING BALLOTS
The Secretary of State website now records results for every precinct except Minneapolis Ward 3, Precinct 1, where 133 ballots are missing. Therefore, the current count does not include the results for the entirety of the precinct (2,029 total votes). Yesterday, the Franken campaign demanded that the Secretary of State oversee an immediate and intensive search for a lost envelope containing those ballots -- a search that continues at this moment. After initially suggesting that the discrepancy between the number of voters on Election Day and the number of ballots found during the recount could be the result of ballots being accidentally double-counted on Election Day - a suggestion the Franken campaign immediately pointed out was completely implausible - Minneapolis elections director Cindy Reichert on Wednesday admitted to the Star Tribune that the ballots were missing, saying that her earlier theory "doesn't jibe with the numbers we have" and "wasn't valid speculation." Minneapolis Ward 3, Precinct 1 covers the Dinkytown neighborhood and includes a large population of students at the University of Minnesota.
http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_11147697
http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/35611679.html

AS COUNTIES SORT UNCOUNTED ABSENTEE BALLOTS, FRANKEN CAMPAIGN ASKS THEM TO COUNT THOSE IMPROPERLY REJECTED
This week, the Secretary of State's office this week directed county auditors and county and city election officials to review all previously rejected absentee ballots and determine whether they fall under one of the four legal reasons for rejecting a ballot. The absentee ballot review will begin on December 8. Today, the Franken campaign released a letter to all 87 counties asking that those ballots which do not fall under one of the four legal reasons for rejection - the so-called "fifth pile" - be opened and counted.
You can view the letter here: http://www.alfranken.com/page/-/docs/recount/20081205_FredriksontoCountyAuditors.pdf
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/franken-wants-rejected-ballots-counted-2008-12-05.html

KEY POINTS

• Today's culmination of the hand count signals attention will soon shift away from the numbers of this particular recount and toward the fight over whether or not these improperly rejected absentee ballots will be counted -- because those are the votes that will determine the next Senator from Minnesota. The Secretary of State has said there are roughly 12,000 absentee ballots rejected this past election. The Secretary of State has also estimated that 500 of them were wrongly rejected -- a number greater than the likely difference between Coleman and Franken at the end of the hand count. The Franken campaign actually estimates this pile is even larger -- up to 1,000 ballots.
• On top of the improperly rejected absentee ballots, reports of missing ballots in several Minnesota localities must be resolved before any recount is considered accurate or complete. According to the Secretary of State's website, there are numerous instances in which the number of recorded voters does not equal the number of ballots counted in the recount, thus certain ballots were counted on Election Day but not in the recount.
• We are determined to ensure that every Minnesotan who cast a vote -- either in person or via absentee -- ought to have that vote counted. And whether it is at the county level, at the canvass board, in the courts or before the United States Senate, we don't know yet. But because we believe the principle that every vote cast ought to be counted is universal, we remain confident these votes will be counted.
• Members of the State Canvassing Board affirmed our argument that improperly rejecting absentee ballots would amount to disenfranchising Minnesotans. In fact, as the decision to count these ballots emerges as the central discussion in the race, will Norm Coleman be in the extraordinary position of arguing they shouldn't be counted? Will elected judges and state officials want to look Minnesotans in the eye and say their votes shouldn't count?
• No recount should be considered complete or accurate until all the ballots are counted -- that includes the improperly rejected absentee ballots, and any missing ballots from around the state.

All week long we've been catching up with the Senate candidates on the campaign trail.  Today, we were in Owatonna with Dean Barkley.  He told me Jesse Ventura may appear with him this weekend, he hasn't heard if Jesse will be in town yet.  In 1998 the final weekend before the election was the magical time for Ventura, but Barkley is not trying to replicate that knowing he can't draw the same crowds.  Barkley is just talking to regular folks, he says it isn't about the political celebrities but the person you vote for. 

The regular folks we saw seemed pretty fed up with this race.  The lawsuits, what's true and what's not; and of course the nasty ads that seemed to hit a new low for our state.  Barkley is trying to capitalize on the distaste for the tone of this election saying he's not suing anyone and he "couldn't ask for two better opponents, how much worse can it get?"

Tune in to Almanac tonight because we think we have some news to report.  I’ve been working on the biographies of the Senate candidates in a show called "Senate Race MN: Big Three Moments" it’s the big three moments of the three candidates’ lives, the personal turning points for Dean Barkley, Norm Coleman and Al Franken.   The whole program premieres Oct. 22 8:00 pm on TPT-2.  

We got amazing access to all the candidates’ homes, wives, and children for emotional and candid interviews.  One candidate revealed something that he told me he wanted to get out before his opponents got to it first.  We will reveal that tonight on Almanac.  Next week we’ll have more interesting news on another candidate.  We’re talking about things that everyone has whispered about in Minnesota politics for years, but rarely if ever talked about on the record.

So, for all of those who wondered why my blog and I dropped off the radar screen recently, this is why.  This project has been incredibly surprising, rewarding and draining.  I see all the candidates in a different light and understand them on a deeply personal level and I think viewers will too.  We've never seen them like this.  I really have to thank the Barkleys, Colemans and Frankens for being so willing to open up about some of the most difficult times of their lives.

With primary opponents out of the way, Al Franken sought to "kick off the general election with a rally."  You'll recall he also kick-started his campaign after Ciresi got out of the race and got criticized for not being available to the media.  Today's event press release was careful to note that "a media availability will follow."  Franken's camp created some strong images with supporters rallying around.  The site was the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center, obvious symbolism there.

Since, Sen. Norm Coleman is in D.C. today, his campaign manager Cullen Sheehan had a press conference rolling out three new ads.  Sheehan also noted at Franked "failed to get the support of one-third" of voters in the primary.  They want former Sen. Dean Barkley in the debates and think Barkley will appeal to possible Franken voters.  Sheehan said "what Barkley does is put Franken in third place on public service" since he's never held office.

Political reporters are expecting a pretty predictable campaign, more of the same for the next 6 weeks.  But if Minnesota history holds true, big races bring big surprises at the last minute:  Boschwitz/Wellstone, Grunseth/Carlson, Wellstone/Mondale/Coleman, Pawlenty/Hatch.  Expect the unexpected in Minnesota politics.