Almanac: At the Capitol

Al Franken expanded his lead over Norm Coleman as more ballots were counted and the Senate passed its education bill that cuts K-12.

View the Capitol Update for April 7, 2009.

So Al Franken wants Governor Pawlenty to sign his election certificate.  I asked the governor about this exact scenario last week and he shot me down--and this is the face I got from him as I asked the question.  I inquired if there was "any scenario" where he would sign the certificate, even if Minnesota went unrepresented for months and months.  He said "I can't Mary, the law is very clear on it.  I don't have the authority to sign unless and until the litigation is resolved."  That pretty much says it all. And now the opposition to Franken's request is bi-paritisan:

Statement from Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie regarding a request from the Franken campaign to have the secretary of state and the governor issue a certificate of election to candidate Al Franken in the 2008 U.S. Senate race.

Jan. 12, 2009
"Minnesota law is very clear on when a certificate of election can be issued. Neither the governor nor I may sign a certificate of election in the U.S. Senate race until all election contests have reached a final determination. Even if the governor issues a certificate of election prior to the conclusion of the contest phase, I will not sign it."

 

The report to the State Canvassing Board is that of the 12,000 rejected absentee ballots, 13% appear to be wrongfully rejected.  So far 4,823 rejected absentee ballots have been reviewed, 638 were wrongfully rejected as determined by local election officials.  That 638 margin is interesting because that's larger than the difference in votes between Coleman and Franken, not that they'll all go one direction, but it's a significant number that could carry forward statewide to nearly 1,600 new votes.

The board is recommending that counties review rejected absentee ballots for obvious errors or "allegedly wrongfully rejected" absentee ballots and report the new totals to the board for review.  The judges wanted to be clear they were not ordering counties what to do and the board does not have the authority to do so.

As far as challenged ballots, the 6,665 has been reduced to 4,472.  That still staggering amount brought an audible sigh from Canvassing Board member Judge Kathy Gearin who sounded off that "you'd have to be deaf and dumb" not to hear people wondering if all the challenges are serious.  She pleaded with the campaigns "please, please be serious." Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said he was "not happy" with the amount of paper he's gotten from the campaigns and wants their time dedicated to reducing the number of challenged ballots so they can and will finish next Friday Dec. 19.

The interest is intense, the fire marshal ruled that no one can stand in the room in the State Capitol so an overflow room has been set up with a TV feed in the Capitol Cafeteria.