CEIMN in the News

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.

"For thoughtful remarks from non-partisan observers in the field, be sure to check out Citizens for Election Integrity MN's recount blog."

From Dan Feidt, Politics in Minnesota, Nov, 25th, 2008

By KEVIN DUCHSCHERE, Star Tribune

Minnesota's U.S. Senate race took a dramatic turn Tuesday with a pair of developments involving absentee ballots: One county acted on its own initiative to count several ballots that it said were wrongly excluded, and two prominent county attorneys proposed a statewide process to reexamine rejected ballots.

The moves came on the eve of a state Canvassing Board meeting today at which the fate of such possibly decisive ballots may be determined.

By KURT NESBITT Journal Staff Writer

Volunteers examined ballots for the U.S. Senate race between Norman Coleman and Al Franken in the recount at the Brown County Courthouse on Monday.
NEW ULM - The Great Minnesota Recount took place Monday at the Brown County Courthouse in New Ulm for the U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.

By KEVIN DUCHSCHERE and LARRY OAKES, Star Tribune

Minnesota's U.S. Senate recount didn't take time off Saturday, as tabulators and observers turned out at a handful of centers around the state to whittle the stacks of ballots.

By Jason Hoppin, jhoppin@pioneerpress.com

Some counties let onlookers circulate among tables stacked with piles of ballots, while some keep them behind yellow "Caution" tape.

Some have campaign representatives sit across the table while elections officials sort ballots, while others allow them to squeeze in closer.

And some counters take lunch breaks, while others don't.

by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — A coalition of watchdog and voter integrity groups are banding together to monitor the recount in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race.

Unofficial results show Republican incumbent Norm Coleman leading Democrat Al Franken by 206 votes, which triggers an automatic recount.

The League of Women Voters, Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota and Common Cause Minnesota will try to have observers at every recount location.

While the Franken and Coleman campaigns are planning to staff recount locations with attorneys and volunteers, three election-minded organizations said they will team up to enlist upward of 250 volunteers to monitor the recount. The group said it will be present, possibly at every recount location, to ensure election laws and recount procedures are followed.

“This is about protecting the integrity of the process,” said Mark Halvorson, director of Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota.

by Chisun Lee, ProPublica

Unlike many states, Minnesota has a solid idea of how well its machines scan ballots because it randomly audits samples of votes. One test found only one error out of 12,000 ballots. Another turned up as many as 53 "discrepancies" -- between a machine's and a human's read -- out of 94,000.

That's impressively accurate for voting machines. But it's not precise enough to predict who'll triumph in the U.S. Senate race between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken. They're currently separated by 206 votes out of 2.9 million cast.

Coverage by Twin Cities Public Television program Almanac here:
http://www.tpt.org/almanac/popup_player.php?node=2269&parent=2267