Campaigns' one-upmanship: Sherburne County's spiral to chaos

By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune

How could a trickle of challenged ballots in the U.S. Senate recount quickly turn into a torrent that has soared to nearly 4,800?

The experience of Sherburne Country is instructive.

During Wednesday's state Canvassing Board meeting, Lucy Botzek, the county's deputy administrator, startled participants and observers alike when she said the Norm Coleman and Al Franken campaigns had challenged 801 of about 30,000 ballots that had been retabulated in her county.

She wasn't placing blame on either campaign. "Once one challenges, the other follows," she said after the board meeting. "They seem to be equally responsible here."

Coon Rapids resident Gene Cichowicz had a first-hand view of the rapid escalation, which he said happened almost spontaneously. He had volunteered to observe on behalf of Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota (CEIM), a nonpartisan group monitoring the recount.

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