After getting an extension the Franken camp Saturday afternoon filed their motion for the size of their universe of absentee ballots: 1585. If/when the Franken side puts on its counter-case in front of the Election Contest Court (ECC) these are the ballots they will be working from and seeking to have counted.
They look to trump Coleman's originally cherry-picked 654 with 804 of their own. They want to knock out a group of 64 votes that favored Coleman and knock IN a different group of 64 votes that favors AL. And.....they don't think felons should vote.
Franken leads +249
Get out your telescopes, put on your space helmets, fire up the impulse engines. We're gonna explore the Franken Universe just past the Orange fold.......
Forget the "Al Franken Decade" (that is SO '80s.) Today we join together to explore the Franken Universe (NOT to be abbreviated to the FU unless referring to the Berg Boys; lets go with "Universe de Franken (UF). If you get tired of the trip you can exclaim in Minnesotan to MRS. FRANKEN: "Universe de Franken? Frannie, Dat's Alot!"....which of course abbreviates to UFFDA :-D!)
First, while we were waiting for this to be filed by Friday at 5:00pm the judges of the Election Contest Court (ECC) took into account the dramatic needs of the WineRev series and realized David Lillehaug's tour d' force would figure prominently in their Saturday morning reading. (They DO read DailyKos don't they? After all these are intelligent, informed and wise judges. They (*ahem*) read the WineRev series to keep laughing. You have to look forward to something waiting for Coleman mouthpiece Friedberg to impeach his own witness, the Kanabac County Auditor from Mora.)
So since the Franken team had to produce their answer to the request for a Temporary Restraining Order, the judges gave them an extension until 2:00pm Saturday to file.
(H/t to Nola Sue for first snagging the AP report on KARE11.) Instead of the 771 we have been hearing rumors about for a while the Franken filing (not posted online anywhere yet; when it is somebody will no doubt link it in the comments) came in at 1585. So to go with your 1346, 933, +225 and +249 we now all have a new number to play with: 1585.
You'll notice this makes the UF an expanding universe, aligning with most astronomical observations and various cosmological speculations. IOW it is reality based.
Known Features of the UF:
1) The former 771 expanded to 804 rejected absentee ballots that Franken would like considered for counting that are NOT on Coleman's list. (TomTech or Vote for America are likely hard at work on Venn diagrams.) They are from the 6100+ ballots that lie between Coleman's former frontier of 4797 and the total edge of the rejected absentee ballot universe of 10962.
Are these 804 as grape-picked as the original 654 Colemans were cherry-picked? You bet your sweet ass they are! This is how tango is done! This is how poker is played! ("Call 654. Raise you to 804.") (Pioneer Press:)
Those ballots seem to lean heavily on areas favorable to the Democrat.
(Marc) Elias, essentially, admitted as much Saturday.
"The other side put before the court a cherry-picked list that was disproportionately Republican voters from red counties, and we have helped restore a balance to the electorate," Elias said.
The Horse Dentures Brigade was shocked (SHOCKED!) to be accused of cherry-picking ANY votes what so ever. Their hearts are pure, covered with lint filtering down from their braincases.
Coleman spokesman Mark Drake dismissed that notion.
"Their motto is simple: If it's a vote for Franken, count it. If it's a vote for somebody else, disenfranchise the voter. The time has come for all the valid votes of Minnesotans to count, not just the ones that favor one candidate over another," Drake said.
Right, Mark. You really said that, huh? Anybody injured by flying enamel as the reporters' teeth exploded trying to hold back laughing?
The 64 times 2
2) Doing the math leaves 1585-804= 781 that ARE part of the decrepit, shrinking Coelman universe as well. But as usual with all things Recount connected its not as simple as both sides actually agreeing, at least this far. Now follow carefully as we look at a couple features of these 781.
A) This is messy because "64" keeps popping up. There were 64 absentee ballots in Becker County ("Becker 64") that were apparently kept in an open cardboard box from Nov. 4 (election day) to Nov. 7. (Becker County: NW, 60% for Coleman; Detroit Lakes---stole those lakes from Michigan tee-hee). These Becker64 have been counted and ARE part of the state certified count. (They went Norm +22 net.)
Team Franken believes they were not secured, that anybody could have walked by and messed with these. (Hell, somebody could have put them in the trunk of their car and taken them for a ride so they could invent a Republican Reverse Projection talking point!) Therefore Team Franken is asking these Becker64 be UNcounted (The tango indeed!) on chain-of-custody issues. Are they valid, legal, countable votes?
Both sides will argue of course, but this shows Team Franken (if you had any doubt) can play offense too.
B) As the Recount began (when this series was still in single digits!) the Franken team made some court moves, claiming there were ballots missing here and there in certain precincts across the state. They now claim in their filing (in these 781 I believe but maybe not; its not clear if these are absentee ballots or IN-Person votes) that 64 (!) votes in 17 precincts around the state* WERE counted on Election night but were NOT counted/included/went missing in the Recount. (The "64 of 17"; The Borg really have arrived on Earth.)
As the Coleman team has pointed out this is the exact opposite of the Minneapolis precinct where 133 voters cast their ballots (and were recorded so doing by the machine tape tallies) but whose paper ballots could not be found for the Recount. Currently these 133 are IN the Recount total (and broke for Franken +46 net). The Coleman Team is trying to get these 133 thrown OUT.
I have no clue where the ECC might go with this. My own guess is still the 133 are in and will stay IN. The "64 of 17" are a long shot for the Franken side on their own grounds for including the 133.
But it IS another example of forcing the Coleman team on the defensive. They are behind by 249 and their universe of possibilities is shedding votes faster than a teenager snake in a growth spurt. They MUST hold everything they have; 64 (of 17) off their pile would be disastrous.
*(County list for those wondering: Hennepin (Mpls.), Ramsey (St. Paul), Washington (Stillwater), Stearns (St. Cloud), Olmsted (Rochester), Hubbard (N Central; Park Rapids), Dakota (S suburban; Hastings), Clay (W-N border; Moorhead, the MN answer to Fargo), and (Chisago; N of St. Paul; Center City.) MN County map:http://geology.com/...
Single ballots in the UF
3) No kidding. The Franken filing is going after every single legal/illegal/miscounted/uncounted/recounted vote. They moved to have 1 vote (not an absentee) removed from Coleman's total from Roseau County (Canadian line NW; breeding ground for some of America's greatest hockey players; see Broten brothers). One voter was a convicted felon, on parole if I recall, nearing the end of his sentence. Like in many states since he was still under sentence he has lost his voting rights but he went to the town of Roseau (he lives there), registered election day (perfectly legal under MN law, and rather common) and voted. In a newspaper interview he noted he voted for Coleman but since his ballot (which should NOT have been run through the counter but was) is in the stack somewhere it can't be pulled.
Team Franken wants the ECC to put a minus 1 on Coleman's pile because of this. My guess: they might well do so, crisply covered under election law. This is clear cut example of voter fraud/ballot box stuffing/the collapse of legalities/dogs and cats living together/the crumbling of the galaxy!!!! .......according to those of the Reichwing whose brainstems are connected directly to their voice box (bypassing even the amphibian growth of neural tissue, let alone reptilian, mammilian, primate or australopithecus---- "the common clay of the New West... you know....morons.")
And another single ballot....... with a name attached: Cullen Sheehan. Yes THAT Cullen Sheehan: Coleman Senate campaign director AND Co-Contestant in this case pending before the ECC. That snot-nosed whine-bag moved here 2 years ago from Iowa (grumble, grumble; not your fault, Iowa, but next time a dumping notice would be nice).
Since he was so busy with the campaign he voted absentee here in MN. He says he was informed it was invalid (for some reason; one of 4 maybe?) and so he cast another, valid ballot. (Unclear if in person or another try at an absentee.) At least he says this 2nd ballot was valid.
Rachel Stassen-Berger, Pioneer Press, quotes from the filing:
"Franken is without information as to whether contestant Cullen Sheehan...Coleman's campaign manager who came from Iowa for that purpose, is a Minnesota resident qualified as an eligible voter under Minnesota election law or as to whether he cast an absentee ballot in the election."
I tell you that Franken team of lawyers can zing with the best of them--- they are putting on a clinic in legal zinging!
Unknown Features of the UF
4) Does this filing have anything to say about the "Nauen"61 (formerly 64- whew! Dodged a bullet there.)? This is that separate filing before the ECC that Team Franken has supported with some legal help & $. 24 of the 61 look to be IN (ECC so ruled; they just haven't been actually opened and counted yet.) The remaining 37 were hanging fire as the ECC asked for more information.
Has the Franken filing of 1585 bootstrapped these 37 along? Are they included in the 1585? Or are they still in a parallel dimension? Wait and see.
5) Does the UF of 1585 include the 392/393/418 (depending on how you count) remaining "Pile 5" absentee ballots? Over 1300 absentee ballots statewide were IMPROPERLY rejected by local officials. When they sought to correct their errors the MN Supreme Court gave each campaign a say-so in which ones would be corrected. 933 were IN (although see yesterday's diary for the explosion as now the Coleman side is trying to "welsh on da deal"), but the remainder are not. (In universal terms these 392-418 are beyond the 10962 in the Oort cloud of 1346 that goes on to the end of the rejected ballot universe,,,,which is only theoretical of course.)
Franken was and is willing to have ALL the remaining counted. So does the UF consist of 804 Franken grapes + 392 to 418 "Pile 5"= 1196 to 1222? If so then the actual overlap with the Coleman universe of rusty tin cans is down to 363 to 389. (Ooops; a fair chunk, say half, of the 392-418 are Coleman rejected absentees. So perhaps this number would be more like 563-589.)
Recap and Prospects
Lets see if we can summarize for the moment (subject to actually seeing the filing and the many wiser heads of number crunchers around here.)
1) 804 Franken grapes vs. 654 Coleman cherries. While these are good looking numbers next to a lead of +249 I think there's less here than meets the eye. All these votes are REJECTED absentee ballots. Local officials have twice looked at and nixed these for 1 of 4 statutory reasons. (In baseball terms they are at the plate and the count is no balls, 2 strikes.) MOSTof them will stay rejected.
That said, the track record of the Coleman legal team is terrible while the Franken side has been sterling. However many of these fruits ARE admitted I would bet seriously that Franken gets a higher percentage IN and he starts from a larger number. Adv. Franken.
2) ~400 "pile 5" IMPROPERLY rejected absentee ballots. These are the ones one side or the other (hell, maybe both) objected to and were not counted Jan. 3. I think the ECC ends up having these counted. As they are from the original group of 1346, and we have a massive sample of 933 already taken from that group to go on, I would say this is also Adv. Franken.
3) Becker64. These ballots were badly handled and the potential for harm existed. Still, no harm has actually been shown. Unless team Franken has evidence re: Becker County's election officials that something Ginsberg/Floridian or Blackwell/Ohioan happened here I think the ECC will go with voter intent and "voters did nothing wrong". Adv. Coleman.
4) 64 of 17. This could be tedious, ballot by ballot examination (although listening to Hamilton/Elias/Lillehaug on direct will be easier than Friedberg/Trimble/Langdon.) Franken will have to show evidence/affidavits/witnesses etc on what did and did not happen on each vote. A tall order and while they may get some I think this will still be Adv. Coleman.
5) The Roseau One. Felon voting in violation of state law?
Out for sure. Adv. Franken.
6) The Campaign manager One. Felon voting in violation of state law? (oops, already used that.) Sounds like it was corrected, at least publicly, but we'll see in court where it goes. My guess: Adv. Barkley (even Sheehan gave up on Norm at the end.)
OK, as you step off the transporter room pad you can now turn to the holographic image of Mrs. Al Franken and say, (all together now!), "UFFDA!"
Sunday Morning Minnesota Media
Pat Doyle isn't bad in his story that "Franken wants 1600 more counted" but he's still condemned to the Metro section page B5.
http://www.startribune.com/...
Rachel Stassen-Berger continues to raise the level of civil discourse over in St. Paul with her detailed story in the Pioneer Press. (She & Pat disagree on the Becker situation: 61 for Pat, 64 for Rachel. I'm going with RSB on the strength of her side snark comment in the Polanimal regarding Cullen Sheehan.)
http://www.twincities.com/...
OK hope this is something to absorb with the Sunday funnies. No word from the ECC on the TRO motion, so likely Monday. Thats the latest from yust southeast of Lake Wobegon.
Shalom.....with an uffda.