Tuesday, November 25, 2008
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MN Secretary of State's Role in Recount Questioned
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Posted by:
Amanda Carpenter at
12:14 PM
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The Minnesota Secretary of State has staked is political reputation on trusting local election officials to ensure integrity in the voting system, but it’s rumored he may be pressuring those same officials to make a controversial decision in favor of Democratic senatorial candidate Al Franken.
The change in his rhetoric about the decision to count rejected ballots in the contentious recount between Franken and GOP incumbent Norm Coleman could have huge ramifications in the race.
“It’s not my job to second guess county election officials” Secretary Mark Ritche is quoted saying in the Grand Forks Herald. Ritchie says local election officials set the "gold standard" for elections in this press release from his office.
Despite this talk some Republicans fear Ritche may be pressuring the canvassing board that will be meeting tomorrow. This board is empowered to make decisions on behalf of the state regarding the recount. The hard-hitting blog "Minnesota Democrats Exposed" has documented all of Ritchie's statements about the recount and notices Ritchie has been softening his language about the authority of officials heading the recount and giving more instruction on what should be done.
At the heart of the issue is a forthcoming decision by the canvassing board on whether or not to count incorrectly marked absentee ballots, most of which fall in Franken's favor. Some absentee ballots were marked odd things, like "lizard people" as a write-in and were tossed out on Election Day. Franken, who trails Coleman by a narrow margin, wants those ballots to be reviewed. The board is scheduled to hold a meeting tomorrow, although it is unknown what exactly they'll be discussing.
As the powerful Secretary of State any instruction from Ritchie could influence an independent decision by the canvassing board. It's very likely Ritchie is being pressured by Democratic operatives to do just this despite his previous statements. A Franken win would put the Democrats one seat closer to a 60-seat Senate majority that could be sealed with a loss of GOP incumbent Saxby Chambliss to Democrat Jim Martin in Georgia next week in a run-off election.
Franken operatives know making a case for the absentee ballots may be their last shot at wiining the Senate seat, short of pursuing a legal strategy after Coleman is named the winner. Also in Franken's favor is the fact that a Thanksgiving Day Eve announcement from the canvassing board would escape critical media attention through the holiday weekend.
For this reason, GOP-ers are keeping a close eye on Ritchie and the board today and tomorrow.
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By whom? You?
"Some absentee ballots were mysteriously marked odd things, like "lizard people" as a write-in"
"Mysteriously?" The people voting are standing there with a pen in their hand. What's mysterious? |
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That back track commentary two weeks ago was revealing enough. Add to it his effeminate delivery and intonation at the podium and I suspect his next vote crusade will be protesting the passage of Prop 8 in California. |
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is obviously referring to Democrats. The vote must go to Franken. |
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will find a way for Franken to win,....it's "bought and paid for".
What's the use of even voting anymore, when the RATs will steal the election anyway? |
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he will have the US Attorney General inform Mark Ritche that the Feds WILL be reviewing this recount process closely.......
AND prosecutions will follow if any intentional fraud is discovered......... |
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Ever heard of an "absentee ballot?" Most people that fill out an absentee ballot usually don't do so at the ballot box/polling station. That's why it's called "absentee." Or if it might help you better understand Amanda's post & the situation, the "thingamajiggy-that-you-fill-in-when-you-cant-get-to-a-polling-station"... |
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"Ever heard of an "absentee ballot?" Most people that fill out an absentee ballot usually don't do so at the ballot box/polling station."
Who said anything about them being at a polling station? Are you claiming that people filling out an absentee ballot don't have a pen in their hand? |
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Not Partisans:
http://www.letfreedomringblog.com/?p=3411 |
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Many of the challenged ballots are available to be reviewed online, including Lizard People. And yes, Screwtape, it IS a vote for Franken and will likely be counted as such. I've seen it.
Despite the misguided focus on Ritchie, this election will come down to votes reviewed by a panel of 4 respected judges, including 2 Republicans, another appointed by independent Jesse Ventura, one whose politics is unclear, and Ritchie. |
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Coleman will win this one,
has been in the lead the whole time,
Franken trying to steal this election,
and at the end, Coleman will win. |
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Coleman will win this one,
has been in the lead the whole time,
Franken trying to steal this election,
and at the end, Coleman will win. |
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Wow--in the first paragraph you actually STATE that your article is based on a rumor!
Turns out the rumor was wrong.
I heard our current Commander-in-Chief is drinking again...will you now report that as "news"? After all, I did hear it somewhere, from someone. |
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"If I can't win, then I'll steal it."
Goes hand in hand with "Vote Early, Vote Often." |
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examined his source of information and he would have saved himself some embarrassment when he boldly stated:
"Screwtape, it IS a vote for Franken and will likely be counted as such. I've seen it."
Since when do we get the privilege of voting for two candidates when the ballot clearly says Vote for One?
The caption under an image of the ballot in question: "A challeneged [sic] ballot with a write-in. The voter cast their ballot for Al Franken, but also put "Lizard People" as a write-in candidate, not only in the U.S. Senate race, but for several others. The county auditor/treasurer ruled that the vote should not be counted because it's considered an overvote. Representatives for Franken challenged that decision."
~Minnesota Public Radio
Story and image here: http://tinyurl.com/6y87do |
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I really don't understand why the election rules for the Primaries don't apply to the General as it seems. In the Primaries, if the ballot was rejected, the votes in the wrong didn't count. Those voters were allowed to either submit the ballot anyway, or go back to the drawing board and fill out a brand new ballot to correct their error. Now those Absentee ballots have to be entered into the machine just as the ones that voters have to feed into the machine. But the Absentee ballots are fed into the machine by the Voting Judges, and we all know those voters aren't available to submit a corrected ballot-basically 'cause they're not there-Duhh... If one section says "Vote only for One", and more than one are selected, that section doesn't count any of those votes. SO, Why in the HECK do the ODD votes that are wrong on these ballots automatically go to the Democratic Party?? They should be thrown out altogether!! Why not give them to the Independent Party, do they have a say in it? Come on MN Representatives, do you have to be so open with your crookedness? Maybe Mark Ritchie should be ousted from his position as well. Bad-Form indeed! Doesn't he lean toward the Democratic side anyway, so he's biased?! Just throw out the F'n votes and get this idiotic mess cleared up, will ya??!! 'Frankenberry' is just a Whiney-@$$ Crybaby! Shut Up Frankenberry, You Lose!! |
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What we did to the people of minnasota to make them obviously hate this country enough to even make it close , my god , Al Franken in the senate, give me a break, as bad as so many of them are now days, please, Frankin , you must hate this country an aweful lot to do that to us and I just cant understand what we did to you . |
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"The voter cast their ballot for Al Franken, but also put "Lizard People" as a write-in candidate"
But he didn't VOTE for Lizard People for Senator; the oval next to their (written-in) name is not filled in. He did vote for them for President; the oval is filled in.
I'd assume that he intended to vote the straight Lizard People ticket, so filled them in for each office, but then decided to vote Franken instead for Senator. It is CLEARLY a vote for Franken.
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"Surely, you jest"
How is it not a vote for Franken? The oval next to Franken's name is clearly and completely filled in. No other ovals under "U.S. SENATOR/VOTE FOR ONE" are filled in or marked at all. That's how you vote; you fill in the oval.
You said earlier: "Since when do we get the privilege of voting for two candidates when the ballot clearly says Vote for One?" Only one oval is filled in. What other candidate do you think he voted for, and how did he indicate that vote? |
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It appears that analysis paralysis is setting in. The county election official has ruled it to be an over vote. |
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"The county election official has ruled it to be an over vote."
That was the original ruling, weeks ago. The ballot was challenged, as have been about 6,000 others. The challenges won't even be considered until the State Canvassing Board meets on December 16. |
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and don't fill out the voter forms correctly it doesn't matter what party you favor, YOU TOSSED YOUR VOTE IN THE TRASHCAN!
GET OVER IT! |
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