The 3-judge panel overseeing the ongoing recount between Norm Coleman and Al Franken for Minnesota’s Senate seat made a ruling last week they may regret.
The court ruled on Friday the 13th that 13 of the 17 determined categories of rejected absentee ballots would no longer be accepted for examination in the recount.
What's wrong with that?
Well, just three days earlier a pool of ballots were accepted that contained ballots similar to those that were ruled unacceptable by the court on the 13th. The Coleman campaign argues “scores” of the 933 ballots opened on January 3rd would have been counted, too.
Coleman lawyer Ben Ginsberg said the court has created “a real problem for itself and the reliability of these proceedings,” in a statement released Wednesday.
Indeed. In order for anyone to be legally named as Minnesota’s Senator, the court will have to certify all legally cast ballots. Under their own standards, by way of the Friday the 13th ruling, the court has conceded illegal ballots have been included in their counts.