ST. PAUL, Minn. — Republican Sen. Norm Coleman went before the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to block improperly rejected absentee ballots from Minnesota’s U.S. Senate recount while the state Canvassing Board continued to review more than 1,000 challenged ballots.
An estimated 1,600 rejected absentee ballots are at stake in the question before the high court. Democrat Al Franken wants them counted.
Coleman attorney Roger Magnuson argued that the ballots shouldn’t be counted because of differences in the way counties decide what amounts to proper rejection. He said the matter would be more properly settled in a post-recount lawsuit.
Franken’s attorney said state law sets clear standards for whether absentee ballots were properly rejected or not.
By Wednesday afternoon, Coleman had picked up 237 votes and Franken 65; another 116 were discarded.
The net result was Coleman with a 360-vote lead, though that number was expected to change a great deal.
