JUDGES: No problems found with rejected Senate ballots-ST. PAUL, Minn

[kpete]

Source: Minneopolis Star Tribune

JUDGES: No problems found with rejected Senate ballots

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The judges in Minnesota's U.S. Senate trial say Republican Norm Coleman has not yet shown a widespread problem with absentee voters being denied the right to vote.

In a ruling late Friday, the three-judge panel say that rejected absentee ballots in 12 of 19 categories should not be counted in the Senate race. That's a setback for Coleman, who wanted to count ballots in all but three categories.

Coleman is trying to undo Democrat Al Franken's 225-vote lead by arguing that thousands of rejected absentee ballots should be counted. But the order from the judges will limit the number of ballots to be reviewed for counting.

"The facts presented thus far do not show a wholesale disenfranchisement of absentee voters in the 2008 general election," wrote judges Elizabeth Hayden, Kurt Marben and Denise Reilly.




Read more: http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/39574697.html

[alfredo]

1. Good news. I think Coleman was holding up Franken until Obama's

main agenda is either accepted or rejected.

[truthisfreedom]

2. I'm smiling widely at the moment.

I hope it sticks with me for a few hours.

[acmavm]

3. So it's about over, right?

[Soylent Brice]

4. *pre-emptive victory dance* n/t

[Hawkeye-X]

5. Normie, Normie.. it's time to concede ALREADY.

You won't even cut into Franken's lead anyway... so do the honorable thing and concede and let Sen. Franken do about his business in DC, while you scrape together a penny to sell used pencils.

Hawkeye-X

[myrna minx]

6. May I have my second Senator now?

Please let this be a sign that this madness will end soon.

[targetpractice]

7. What a confusing headline! n/t

[pleah]

9. I agree. n/t

[countmyvote4real]

26. Same here. But it made me click. n/t

[pleah]

8. Hey, Normie, its time to sit down and shut the fuck up!

:woohoo:

[BradBlog]

10. MN Senate Contest Court Limits 'Ballot Universe' to Only Those 'Legally Cast Under Relevant Law'

Source: BRAD BLOG

BREAKING: MN Senate Election Contest Court Ruling Limits 'Ballot Universe' to Only Those 'Legally Cast Under Relevant Law'
At least 13 of 19 categories of previously rejected absentee ballots will not be counted, according to the ruling...

A late Friday finding from the 3-judge panel presiding over the Coleman/Franken U.S. Senate election contest in Minnesota, has limited the number of previously rejected absentee ballots that may be reviewed for possible counting. The 17-page order issued late today, will likely come as a blow to former Senator Norm Coleman's (R) chances of overtaking presumptive Senator-elect Al Franken's (D) current lead of some 250 votes out of approximately 2.9 million ballots cast last November...

FULL STORY, COPY OF RULING: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6916

Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6916

[truthisfreedom]

11. Coleman was only stalling. He knew he was wasting the country's time.

His whole plan was to keep Al from getting seated as long as possible. That's what he was instructed to do.

[No Elephants]

32. He probably only signs papers when he has to. The RNC does the rest.

[TheCowsCameHome]

12. I wait every day to hear Coleman's concession speech.

How sweet it will be...............

[Milspec]

40. That might be a long wait

I don't think he will ever concede.

[Ichingcarpenter]

13. Too Bad Brad your title won't get the views it deserves - Colman vs Franken

isn't even in the title.

Great news though!!!!

[glinda]

14. wonder how much money or what he is being paid to stall

[Catshrink]

15. Norm

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BpDNdb-o2MU/SZSYl6uxbLI/AAAAAAAAAec/ZVx30pBr4Rk/s400/Picture+4.png

Yeah, it's for real:

http://www.vetocorleone.com/2009/02/norm-colemans-yearbook-photo-is-your.html

[Suji to Seoul]

16. Trenchcoat Mafia. . .keep him away from high schools and guns!

Creepy younger photo to go with his sex offender smile photos as a Senator (not saying he his, just has the creepy smile of your classic sex offender).

Good fucking riddance, creepo

[elocs]

20. That really is one very, very ugly looking dude. Ug-ly.

Kind of creepy, too.

[ooglymoogly]

29. Nail this @^#(*& to the cross. If this were the pug thugs in

charge they would have seated Colman already; But not our jellyfish. Unless he claims to be Jeeeezusa! the zealot, Taliban right who hallucinate angels are flopping around overhead, sanctioning their evil and hate mongering, will not like this photo.

[struggle4progress]

17. "... Franken campaign lawyer Marc Elias .... said four of the remaining categories not addressed are

likely to be tossed out as well, given the court's reasoning ..."

Court narrows focus in Coleman lawsuit
By Reid Wilson
Posted: 02/13/09 07:17 PM
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/court-narrows-focus-in-coleman-lawsuit-2009-02-13.html

[Nothing Without Hope]

38. Thanks Brad, you're a wonderful resource. For anything to do with voting,

I always check your blog first.


:yourock:

[struggle4progress]

18. Senate election contest judges rule out 12 of 19 kinds of rejected absentee ballots (MN Independent)

By Chris Steller 2/13/09 5:06 PM

... Here are the seven kinds (some reports read the court order as saying six) of previously rejected absentee ballots the court appears to have ruled today that it may examine. Ballots that were: ...

<list>

Here are the 12 kinds (though some reports say 13) of rejected absentee ballots summarized above that the court ruled today it won’t examine. They include ballots that were: ...

<list>

http://minnesotaindependent.com/26526/senate-election-contest-judges-rule-out-12-of-19-kinds-of-rejected-absentee-ballots

[Piewhacket]

19. stimulus stall.

[Qutzupalotl]

39. That was my first thought too.

Nobody but the truly desperate would keep presenting such laughably meritless arguments in court. It's embarrassing.

Too much is at stake for them now. They want Obama to fail in his early endeavors, regardless of what happens to the poor. McConnell and Boehner have a knee-jerk opposition to anything likely to give Obama a victory, even if it would be good for the country.

What do they have to lose if Franken is seated? For one thing, Specter becomes largely irrelevant. Much more attention will be paid to the senators from Maine, but they're not insane like the rest of their party. This means Obama, by reaching out, has shaved off two reasonably reasonable Republicans, to at least win early victories. This suggests we'll see a moderate approach in his early achievements, but it points to success and maybe mid-term victories that would solidify his majority and allow him to pursue a more populist agenda. You know he wants to.

[liberal N proud]

21. Can we swear Al in now?

[CK_John]

22. Norm will use this to appeal to Federal Court. Don't expect Norm to go easy. n/t

[Hawkeye-X]

23. It will be rejected on the Federal courts

on the basis that it is a state, not a Federal matter.

Bush v Gore precedent will be re-examined and reversed, ensuring the confirmation of the illegality of the Chimp for 8 years.

Hawkeye-X

[Hippo_Tron]

25. Bush v Gore set no formal precedent

It was specifically written in the opinion that Bush v Gore only applies to Bush v Gore. It was more or less the majority's way of saying that they wanted to give the election to Bush even though they had no legal reasoning to do so.

[Mister Ed]

31. Coleman's attorneys have made it clear they're trying to get to the Supreme Court

They've been trying to establish evidence of unequal treatment of ballots from one precinct to another. They're hoping the same argument that got the presidency awarded to Bush will prevail again.

I wonder how it'll play out if it gets all the way to the SC? Will the conservative majority on the court use the bogus unequal protection argument once again and place Norm in the Senate?

On the one hand, they have a lot less incentive to install Norm than they had to install Bush. In 2000, they had the opportunity to choose the man who would choose the new Supreme Court Justices. They were going to find any excuse they could to choose Bush, who would appoint conservatives to the bench. Norm has no such power to reward them.

On the other hand, we now have Alito and Roberts in the mix. I think they're far more extreme in their conservative outlook than were the judges they replaced (Rehnquist and O'Connor). I wouldn't put anything past them.

[No Elephants]

33. Aren't elections governed by state law?

[Mister Ed]

35. That's my belief, and my hope.

No legal scholar am I, but I think the big difference between this case and Bush v. Gore is that this is a state election and not a federal election. I hope that means the matter will be decided by state courts and not federal courts.

However, I've been following the news on this very closely, and I believe Coleman's lawyers have said they hope to take it to federal. And they've clearly been working the unequal protection angle quite hard.

[EvilChime]

37. The Supremes did not accept it

Didn't they already refuse to hear this case? I believe they did... and in the interim Minnesotans are being denied the vote of one senator while some heavy legislation is being built - they are being denied their rights in my opinion by Coleman's refusal to accept reality.

[Mister Ed]

41. Wait, check this out. Norm's "equal protection" claim may be "blown out of the water"

Cross-posting to a post from DU'er kickysnana in the DU Minnesota forum:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=160&topic_id=35058&mesg_id=35058

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/02/13/franken-... /

What's more, the court concurred with Franken's team -- and with the previously-stated position of Team Coleman -- that statutes and previous court rulings clearly hold that absentee ballot voting is a privilege, not a right. Why is this important? Because as was discussed a couple of weeks ago, if absentee voting is a privilege instead of a right, then Norm Coleman's equal-protection claim -- the heart of his election contest -- is blown out of the water.

Even worse for Coleman, the ECC raised the burden of proof shouldered by the Coleman campaign in adding additional ballots: From here on out, Coleman attorneys must now prove that a ballot was actually legally cast, and not just that it was improperly rejected. This means that they must show evidence, among other things, that the voter did not submit an additional absentee ballot or arrive in person at the polling place on Election Day to vote. No more throwing ballots at the wall to see which ones stick.

[Lucky Luciano]

24. Excellent...I cannot believe that picture of youg Normie above! nt

[veganlush]

27. kinda reminds me of MY high school picture..

...but good riddence Norm..get out of the way and let's get Al sworn in..:hippie:

[rollingrock]

28. Make Coleman pay all court costs for wasting taxpayers' time and money. nt

[Laelth]

30. Good. The wheels of justice are slow, but usually fair.

Let the votes be counted.

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Historic NY]

34. So Norm stop the charade, have you no decenecy...wait your a Repuke.

[IDemo]

36. Nermin won't be happy until Alito makes the choice