Typical Dem tactics are now being employed in the Minnesota Senate race recount. Mainly, keep counting until you “find” enough votes:
A tiny town in the Democratic stronghold of Minnesota’s Iron Range emerged Friday as the latest battleground over the state’s disputed U.S. Senate race.
Democrat Al Franken gained 100 votes there between election night and when results were officially tallied on Thursday.
Adding to the intrigue — and suspicion in Sen. Norm Coleman’s camp: The time stamp on the official tape printed out by a ballot machine in the precinct in question carried a date of Nov. 2, two days before the election.
Election officials in Mountain Iron, Minn., and St. Louis County said Friday they are confident the final vote totals were correct. They chalked up the time-stamp discrepancy to a voting machine whose clock may have been improperly set or been running low on batteries.
In the midst of the unresolved election — the tightest U.S. Senate race in Minnesota history, with a recount in the offing — the Mountain Iron confusion is the latest wrinkle. The difference between Coleman and Franken, which stood at 725 votes in Coleman’s favor Wednesday morning, has changed several times since then as county officials have checked results, and was 221 by Friday evening.
An election night worksheet from St. Louis County showed Franken with 406 votes from Precinct 1 in Mountain Iron. The revised totals Thursday night showed him with 506. Similarly, the vote total for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama increased from 469 to 569 when the final tallies were completed. Both Democrats won the precinct by a ratio of more than 2-to-1.
“Obviously, this is highly suspicious. They found 100 votes, and it’s statistically impossible that all 100 votes went to the two Democrats, even in St. Louis County,” said Cullen Sheehan, Coleman’s campaign manager.
The tapes sent to Duluth, copies of which were examined by the Star Tribune, reflect the increased vote totals for Franken and Obama, but they also bear a time stamp of 7:55 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, two days before the election. Copies of election night tapes from the city’s second precinct also show a discrepancy in the time stamp, indicating the votes were tallied at 12:14 p.m. on Oct. 31, four days before the election.
Jill Anderson, Mountain Iron’s deputy registrar, said election officials tested the machines before the election, successfully running sample ballots through for accuracy.
Reports of voter suppression efforts on the part of Franken partisans on election day now gain significance:
“Omar Jamal, with the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, claims anywhere from six to ten people acting as interpreters inside the polling place inside the Brian Coyle Center, swayed elderly voters, and those who don’t speak English.
Jamal said they all urged voters to mark their ballots for Franken, even if they wanted to cast a vote for Coleman.
In some cases, the interpreters not only pressured people to vote for Franken, but also filled out ballots for voters, according to Jamal.
He told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that he believes this may have happened over 500 times.
‘They were telling people if you vote for Obama and you don’t vote for Al Franken, your vote would not be counted. If you vote for Obama, you have to vote for Al Franken,’ Jamal explained.”
Allow me to say this about Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie…
Unlike other Righty Bloggers here in Minnesota, I actually have a very high opinion of our SoS. Having met and conversed with Ritchie on several occasions, I have always found him to be a refreshing break from your typical elected official as he has struck me as open, honest, and non-partisan; a person who exuded common-sense, fairness, and practicality. If there was one Democratic Secretary of State that I would trust to give a Republican candidate facing a recount a fair shake, it would be Mark Ritchie.
However, we are no longer taking about a hypothetical situation in the Minnesota U.S. Senate race. We are in the process of a recount that has already seen several hundred new votes suspiciously “found”; all of which have been to the benefit of Al Franken.
The bottom line is this: I believe that without strong direction of the recount by someone who cherishes the fairness and integrity of the Democratic process above all else, this election will be stolen from Sen. Norm Coleman by Al Franken.
However, I continue to hold out hope that Secretary of State Mark Ritchie will prove to be that kind of man.
November 8th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I think that Al Franken will probably steal this.
Norm Coleman will be back for a rematch in 2014, though — wow, that’s an eternity away — if that happens.
I am trying to hold out hope that Coleman will hold onto his lead, though.
Coleman still leads 2-1 on Intrade.
November 8th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
This is insane. Where the hell are the GOP lawyers? Where the hell is Fox News and talk radio? How the hell is this allowed to go on every sinle election? This is no different than the 2004 WA governer’s race.
November 8th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
The scary thing about the recount is the undervotes: And most of those are in areas where Obama did well. There could be more than 300 people who mismarked their ballot for Franken–while somehow doing it right for Obama. Or maybe not, just a real concern.
November 8th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
If Coleman loses now in MINNESOTA there is no way he will beat the incumbent Franken. Not in Minnesota. We just got lucky in 2002. There isn’t going to be a time where the party can ride presidential coattails with 80 percent approval to victory any time soon.
November 8th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Norm was the guy I was the GOP Senator I was rooting for hardest. Pawlenty’s victory in 2006 was about the only thing that kept me from days of depression and I was hoping for another surprise out of Minnesota.
November 8th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Norm was the guy I was the GOP Senator I was rooting for hardest.
Me too.
Senator Al Franken?
It’s like Senator Sean Hannity or something.
Preposterous.
November 8th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Alex,
It’s worse then that. Sean Hannity is pretty universally acknowledged to be a nice guy (he was one of the five nicest tv/radio personalities in some major newspaper a few months ago). Franken is ludicrously partisan AND a ginormous jerk. It’s more like electing Michael Savage.
November 8th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
It’s worse then that. Sean Hannity is pretty universally acknowledged to be a nice guy (he was one of the five nicest tv/radio personalities in some major newspaper a few months ago). Franken is ludicrously partisan AND a ginormous jerk. It’s more like electing Michael Savage.
I will forever be embarrassed to admit that, when I was 14 and self-published a book, my local newspaper ran a profile on me and my political interests, and I named Michael Savage as a conservative commentator that I enjoyed. Yikes. (I did also note that I read Al Franken and Michael Moore’s books to see the other side, though. So I didn’t sound like a total crank.)
November 8th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Thinking Person,
“(I did also note that I read Al Franken and Michael Moore’s books to see the other side, though. So I didn’t sound like a total crank.)”
That explains you! j/k. No, but really what were you doing reading three people who don’t remotely represent their “side”? That’s like a who’s who list of cranks. Hey, but when I was 14, I’d pretty much never heard of politics. I seriously think I finally nailed the meaning of liberal and conservative in my senior year in high school. Until then, I’d been pretty uninterested the whole business. So better Michael Savage/Michael Moore/Al Franken then total ignorance….wait, what the heck am I thinking? I’m having a Biden moment I guess.
November 8th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Matthew,
It’s cool to call him Alex, there is no longer any need for us to continue with the “Thinking Person” ruse.
November 8th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Kavon,
I wasn’t sure that it was a ruse, but I figure that folks who haven’t been here forever (and there are some) will probably be alot less confused if I don’t seem to be addressing some mysterious “Alex”. But, point taken.
November 8th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
It’s cool to call him Alex, there is no longer any need for us to continue with the “Thinking Person” ruse.
It’s okay.
He can call me Thinking Person anytime he wants.
November 8th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
That explains you! j/k. No, but really what were you doing reading three people who don’t remotely represent their “side”? That’s like a who’s who list of cranks. Hey, but when I was 14, I’d pretty much never heard of politics. I seriously think I finally nailed the meaning of liberal and conservative in my senior year in high school. Until then, I’d been pretty uninterested the whole business. So better Michael Savage/Michael Moore/Al Franken then total ignorance….wait, what the heck am I thinking? I’m having a Biden moment I guess.
What would a fourteen-year-old want with anything other than infotainment?
The important thing is that I got “that phase” over with early! I moved onto the Serious People by the time I was 17. Though I will admit that I still love me some Ann Coulter.
November 8th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
As you throw around, ever so easily, implications of theft and dishonesty, it might be interesting to hear from you what the conditions would be under which you could conceivably accept that Franken legitimatly won the election.
Or are you going to take the position that Coleman MUST have won – such that if he doesnt, it MUST be thievery?
November 8th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Not counting absentee ballots that were discovered in someone’s car 4 days later would be a start.
November 8th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Tano,
Hey! Our original liberal is back.
November 9th, 2008 at 7:48 am
lol, Im a Black man, and it dont matter which house nuccka u bring out, the people aint buying it, lol Steel, fake azz nukka, Jundal, lol cant wait to see him in western pa, lol or W. VA. See the Gop problem is that ur a bunch of racist, or atleaste u let palin paint that pic. U thought women were gonna come over cause of palin, and u think blacks will come for steel, thats your problem, U think u can trick peolple, but they know who u really are, its all over youtube, and will b4ever exposed, lol u guys dont have a chance. The only red meat your crowds luv is race hating! Like that old ladie, Obamas an Arab, wat a dumb bitch, all of ur missinformation and hate has contamanted ur own wells, lol drink up fools. The Gop Is Corny, kids aint gonna get down with some racist old white guy from the south, lol u dont have a chance. 95% of Blacks, 70% of spanish, 50% white, do the math u turkeys, thought yall went to yale, cant u do math, aint knowone left, lol. Thats what u get for treating mexicans like blacks. See Blacks been Woke up, now the Mexicans are too. The other half of whites that voted for Mc DickHead Are a bunch of race hatting, neo nazi, un educated, bible loving, gun buying rednecks, who are broke, and need a tax cut, lol joe the dumb ass plumer, lol. The Real GOP, are Elites, who look down to the rest of the scum in there party. Imagine Those Elites, who finished HIGHSCHOOL, lol chillin with joe the DickHead, lol never, not in a million years. Its Over, This is wat it is, all the old racist are DYING off, they were young in the 70’s but its 2008, fool, thats allot of dead Turkeys, Hell Mc Loser is bout to take his last flight also, then whose left Palin the Shopper, lol. Im lovin this, Rome Run By a black man, The most powerfull man in the World is a black man, lol Im Shure the KKK, is Just Lovin this, AWWWWW u suckers, lol have to eat Obama for breakfast Lunch & Dinner for the next 4 years, I hope 8! Im lovin this, fox news is on Obamas Dick now, lol I thought he was a terroist, Socialist, lol assholes, while Bush was robbin yall blind, ur hate and anger mad u idots look at nothing but a game of three card monte, with ur life under the shells, lol. Wat A bunch of Turkeys, lol. This one was for all the Black Slaves, All the Indians, the Whole world, that white people have tuched and destroyed, all the cultures stolen, all the diamonds & Gold, all the Mummies from Eygpt, that u stole, All the Knowledge stolen from Africa, all the bad things you have done Under Gods name,all the South Americans who died after u brought Christ to there shores, all the Crap u have put everyone in this world through since u left the shores of Europe, and landed on the shores of the world, like rats who brought Death, u now have been put in a trap, lol ur own trap.