2008 Presidential Campaign Blog

A Statement From Senator Norm Coleman

A STATEMENT FROM SENATOR NORM COLEMAN

ST. PAUL – Senator Norm Coleman today issued the following statement at a news conference in St. Paul:

Our Declaration of Independence states that government "derives its just powers from the consent of the governed.”  Our government of laws is only as just as the elections that determine who make the decisions that affect us all.  So we all have responsibility to make sure each vote counts in every election so the purity of democracy in our nation can be preserved and enhanced on our watch.

On November 4, 2008, nearly 3 million Minnesotans cast their votes for the United States Senate.  The vast majority of those votes were clear and validly cast.  Obviously, it was an extremely close vote, so Minnesota law required an automatic hand recount.

I want to express my deep appreciation to all of the election officials and volunteers who helped to make this election successful. I also want to thank the hundreds and hundreds of people who have been involved in this recount process for their work during a busy family time of the year for doing the work to get us to this point in the process.

But in the wisdom of Minnesota’s excellent election law, the local recount actions to date and those of the canvassing board are steps in the process of reaching a clear and unambiguous result all the people can accept as final.  But as of today, not every valid vote has been counted and some have been counted twice.

So today I am announcing that I’ve instructed my legal team to file an election contest according to Minnesota law. Until these issues are settled, any attempt to seat someone who is not properly certified ignores the law, violates Senate precedent and usurps the will of the people of Minnesota.

There are several vital issues that must be resolved for the sake of this and future elections. Let me be very specific.

When double counted votes are included in a recount, an accurate and valid count cannot be obtained. When there are more votes counted in a single precinct than votes cast on the night of the election, an accurate and valid count cannot be obtained. When hundreds, if not thousands, of absentee ballots were wrongly rejected and still not included in the recount, an accurate and valid count cannot been obtained.

We are filing this contest to be absolutely sure that every valid vote was counted and no one’s voted was counted more than anyone else’s.  The only way to do that is to guarantee that clear standards were applied fairly and uniformly throughout every single precinct of this state.

Under Minnesota Law there can be no valid election certificate issued if an election contest is filed.  An election contest is the exact remedy the law provides to ensure that this recount and the associated inconsistencies that come with it are properly examined and properly resolved.

That’s what the Supreme Court said when it ruled the wrongly rejected absentee ballots that have still not been counted should be part of a contest.  And it’s what members of the Canvassing Board communicated when they said they did not have the power in a recount to deal with the double counting of original and duplicate ballots.

While I understand there is a desire by a small number of people to simply move on, something greater than expediency is at stake here.  As Americans we believe that every valid vote should count and that everybody’s vote is equally to everyone else's.

Democracy is not a machine.  It’s run by people working to obey the law as best they can.   Sometimes it’s messy and inconvenient, and reaching the best conclusion is never quick because speed is not the first objective:  fairness is. I’ve directed my team to move as quickly as possible to resolve these issues.  But we will not permit the full process to be shortcut.  That would only cast greater doubt and uncertainty over the final result.

A six year term is a long, long time.  Crucial decisions will be made during that period on the economy, national security and the rights of all Americans.  Minnesotans deserve 100% confidence that their Senator was fairly elected by all the people.

Speaking personally for just a moment: it has been an enormous privilege for me and my family to be involved in serving the people of Minnesota for over 30 years, the last six in the United State Senate. I hope to keep doing so.  I have been humbled by the privilege given to me, but I want to make it clear: nobody is indispensible.  It’s the will of the people that really matters.

This is not just about me.  The eyes of the nation are on the state that   we love and we need to show them that Minnesota has done everything we can to make sure that we protect every voter’s right.  At this moment, I may not have a working office in D.C. or in St. Paul, but I still have my voice in Minnesota, and I certainly plan to use it.

We need to get this right for all of us:  a true, accurate and valid result of the Minnesota United States Senate Recount so all Minnesotans can have a Senator with the full credibility to lead and serve.

Thank you and God bless.

RNC Statement On Minnesota Election Contest

RNC STATEMENT ON MINNESOTA ELECTION CONTEST

WASHINGTON – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan released the following statement tonight.

“Minnesota law reads that an election contest – not Harry Reid – should decide the winner of a contested election.  The efforts of Al Franken, Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer to steal this election and seat Al Franken despite not having an election certificate are unprecedented.

“When elections are being decided by double-counted votes and double standards in the treatment of absentee ballots, there must be a remedy to get an accurate and valid vote total – that remedy is an election contest.  That is the law of Minnesota enacted by the people of Minnesota.  The people of Minnesota deserve to see their laws followed. 

“I am confident that if the law is followed, Norm Coleman will be taking his rightful seat in the U.S. Senate.”

NRSC Chairman: Minnesota Law and Senate Rules Must Be Respected

NRSC Chairman: Minnesota Law and Senate Rules Must Be Respected

 WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), made the following statement today in response to reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) may seek to disregard Minnesota law, as well as circumvent the rules of the U.S. Senate, and attempt to seat Democrat Al Franken as the junior Senator from Minnesota on Tuesday.

“The rules of the U.S. Senate state very clearly that any new Senator must present a certificate of election or appointment signed by both his/her home state Governor and Secretary of State. In fact, this is the very rule Senator Reid’s office has publicly cited in refusing to seat Mr. Burris from Illinois. 

“Further, the laws of the State of Minnesota state that no certificate can be awarded until all legal challenges are resolved, which is far from the case currently in the Minnesota Senate race. It’s clear that numerous Minnesotans have been wrongly disenfranchised by a flawed recount process and the Coleman campaign has every right to contest the Canvassing Board’s decision, as they should.

“So if Senator Reid seeks to seat Al Franken without a certificate of election, he will be telling the people of Minnesota, and all Americans for that matter, that rules and laws can be ignored whenever he sees fit or whenever it’s politically convenient for Senate Democrats.  This would send a terrible signal to all Americans who are rightfully expecting this new Congress to work together in a bipartisan manner. 

“I sincerely hope that Senator Reid does not go down this path.  I hope that he adheres to the Senate’s rules and allows the people of Minnesota to decide this Senate race.  Minnesota voter’s choices and Minnesota’s laws must be respected. 

“If Senator Reid chooses to ignore both, then I expect Republicans will stand in the way of his desire to play kingmaker in deciding the next Senator from Minnesota.”

Statement From Coleman For Senate Counsel Tony Trimble

STATEMENT FROM COLEMAN FOR SENATE COUNSEL TONY TRIMBLE

ST. PAUL - Coleman for Senate Counsel Tony Trimble today issued the following statement:

The actions today by the Canvassing Board are but the first step in what, unfortunately, will now have to be a longer process.  This process isn’t at the end; it is now just at the beginning. We will contest the results of the Canvassing Board -- otherwise, literally millions of Minnesotans will be disenfranchised.

While we appreciate the effort of this board to do the work, the reality is that any certification of vote totals at this point is only preliminary.  As this Canvassing Board has recognized, there still exist serious problems with inconsistencies in the administrative recount, and therefore in the validity and reliability of the numbers certified today.  There can be no count that is accurate or valid when 654 potentially valid absentee votes remain disenfranchised and when some votes are counted twice – leading to a violation of one of the most sacred principles of our constitution – “One person, One vote.”

And, there can be no justification to report out a total when 133 votes were included in a count where there are not ballots to support them.  Or when a batch of votes were not counted on Election Night, but were miraculously “found” during the recount and included. 

If the Canvassing Board had resolved all these issues, then the process might be completed.  But the Board has deferred the resolution of those issues for the contest phase provided for in Minnesota law.  Since the process is far from complete, there can be no confidence in the current results of the United States Senate Recount, and we will file a contest within the next 24 hours to promptly correct those problems and inaccuracies.  The Supreme Court ruling today also emphasizes that that’s what we must do to provide an accurate count for this election.

Senator Coleman is adamant that we not wait a moment longer than necessary to ensure that the election be completed with accuracy and validity – and most importantly, without disenfranchising Minnesota voters or having a cloud remain over the results.

The utter lack of uniformity in the treatment of rejected absentee ballots, resulting in the disenfranchising of voters, is perhaps the most troublesome aspect of the recount. Similar ballots were treated differently by different counties.  This creates an Equal Protection violation that fatally taints any result that includes these ballots. This was precisely what the Minnesota Supreme Court order said to avoid.

Unfortunately, with this announcement today, numerous Minnesotans will be wrongly disenfranchised because their votes are not counted.  Mr. Franken and his campaign for purely political reasons no longer want to “count all the votes”.  And, it is with great disappointment that we’ve seen senior members of the Secretary of State’s Office contributing to the process being broken.  When senior members of the Secretary of State’s office, charged with ensuring a fair and balanced process, engage in acts which undermine that neutrality, all of us must be concerned.

The fact is the Canvassing Board’s current totals are invalid and unreliable because:

·Original and Duplicate ballots have been double counted – even members of the Canvassing Board acknowledge this is a serious issue, yet nothing was resolved – instead, double counted votes were simply added to their recount totals.

·Newly Discovered ballots, which appeared for the first time during the recount and are included in the Canvassing Board totals without proper reconciliation to the number of voters signed into the precincts on Election Day.

·Missing Ballots supposedly tallied on election night that could not be found during the recount process are included in the Canvassing Board count contrary to Minnesota precedent.

·And again, an inconsistent treatment of challenged ballots – an inconsistent treatment of wrongfully rejected absentee ballots – and an inconsistent treatment of the campaign by the very office charged with coordinating this recount simply results in a process that is broken.

The recount was supposed to be a recount – fair and reasoned – and one that would retain the credibility of the outcome of this election. However, it ceased being that the day that duplicate ballots and “missing ballots” were included in the count, and simply became more and more broken each and every day.

We had hoped that the board would refrain from reporting out with unanimity a recount total today. Since that did not happen, we will file an election contest within the next 24 hours. It will be based upon the issues I have outlined, as well as the lack of inclusion of 654 additional ballots that we believe should be a part of this recount and the very serious issue of included double counted votes that disenfranchises Minnesotans.

Our goal and obligation should be to get an accurate and valid vote as quickly as possible, and that is our reason for acting with urgency.  Minnesotans ought to be able to expect that an accurate and valid recount would have ensured two United States Senators from Minnesota tomorrow.  However, because the process is broken that will not happen.

DFL Party Congratulates Al Franken On Victory In Senate Race

DFL Party Congratulates Al Franken on Victory in Senate Race
Party calls for full representation for Minnesota in Senate

St. Paul (January 5, 2009) — After the State Canvassing Board certified this afternoon that Al Franken received more votes in the November 4, 2008 general election than former Senator Norm Coleman, the Minnesota DFL Party released this statement from Chair Brian Melendez and Associate Chair Donna Cassutt:

“We heartily congratulate Senator-elect Franken on his election to the Senate, now that the final tally has been certified and shows that that he received the most votes. We are also happy for Minnesotans, who are gaining in Al Franken a senator who will fight day in and day out alongside President-elect Obama for real change in Washington and real relief for the middle class.

“The recount has been run with exemplary fairness, transparency and integrity — and now it has run its course. Minnesotans, who can be proud of the process that concluded today, are ready to put the hard-fought election behind them and put our elected officials, including Senator-elect Franken, to work in solving the many crises that face our new president and our nation.

“Now that Al Franken has been certified the winner of the Senate race, it would be unfair to Minnesotans for him not to be seated as soon as possible, especially at this critical time. Minnesotans have a right to full representation in the United States Senate and have a right to expect that Al Franken, the clear winner of the Senate race, will be seated as soon as possible. We deserve no less and can afford no less.”

Republican Party Of Minnesota Statement Regarding Seating Al Franken

Republican Party of Minnesota To Harry Reid: Stay Out Of Our Elections

Republican Party of Minnesota Chair Ron Carey today released the following statement regarding recent statements from Senate Democrats suggesting they would attempt to seat Al Franken.

“Recent statements suggesting that Senate Democrats may try to seat Al Franken without an election certificate flies in the face of Harry Reid’s own standard for seating Roland Burris from Illinois.  Reid’s spokesman said that without an election certificate Burris could not be seated, but Al Franken does not have an election certificate and no one from Minnesota will have an election certificate until after all issues regarding the election are resolved before the courts.  The people of Minnesota should have the final say in who represents them in Washington, not Harry Reid and D.C. Democrats.”

Reid Spokesman Says There Will “Likely Be An Attempt To Seat” Franken. “Jim Manley, the spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday that there ‘likely will be an attempt to seat [Franken] this week.’ A senior Democratic aide confirmed that Senate Democrats hoped to swear Franken in Tuesday, along with the rest of the freshman senators.” (Emily Cadei and Kathleen Hunter, “Senate Democrats May Try To Seat Franken,” CQPolitics.com, January 5, 2009)

FLASHBACK: Reid Spokesman Says Roland Burris Could Not Be Seated Unless He Has An Election Certificate. “’Until he gets a certificate he is not a senator,’ said Jim Manley, spokesman for Reid, D-Nev.” (Catharine Richert, “Challenges Could Keep Two Senate Seats Open For Weeks,” Congressional Quarterly, January 1, 2009)

Coleman For Senate Statement On Today's Minnesota Supreme Court Ruling

COLEMAN FOR SENATE STATEMENT ON TODAY’S SUPREME COURT RULING

ST. PAUL - Coleman for Senate Counsel Fritz Knaak today issued the following statement regarding the Minnesota Supreme Court’s ruling today.

“Given our campaign’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that the vote of no Minnesotan is disenfranchised, today’s ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court is both disappointing and disheartening.  The fact that the Franken campaign now rejects the notion of every valid vote being counted so they can attempt to declare victory on the basis of a broken process, and an artificial lead built on double counting of votes should concern all Minnesotans.  Today’s ruling, which effectively disregards the votes of hundreds of Minnesotans, ensures that an election contest is now inevitable.  The Coleman campaign has consistently and continually fought to have every validly cast vote counted, and for the integrity of Minnesota’s election system, we will not stop now.  The Minnesota Supreme Court has made sure that an election contest will need to be filed quickly in order to ensure that an accurate and valid recount can be achieved.”

10 Minnesota Electors Vote Unanimously For Obama And Biden

SECRETARY OF STATE RITCHIE PRESIDES OVER MINNESOTA ELECTORAL COLLEGE ASSEMBLY
10 Minnesota Electors Vote Unanimously for Obama and Biden

SAINT PAUL, Minn.―Dec. 15, 2008―Minnesota's 10 Electors today unanimously cast votes for Barack Obama and Joseph Biden for president and vice president in a ceremony held in the State Capitol Rotunda. Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie presided over the ceremony of public balloting attended by Minnesota dignitaries, elected officials, and the public.

 

The ceremony included the U.S. Army St. Paul Recruiting Company Color Guard. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Brian Krohn, an Augsburg graduate and 2009 American Rhodes Scholar-elect. The national anthem was sung by Tom Tipton, and an invocation was offered by Rev. Peg Chemberlin, president-elect of the National Council of Churches, and executive director of the Minnesota Council of Churches.

"It was a great civic opportunity for Minnesotans to come together to participate and witness American history in the making with the election of President Obama and Vice President Biden," said Ritchie. "The elections of our 44 presidents to-date continue as a dynamic, constitutional process."

Under the U.S. Constitution (Article 2, Sect. 1), Minnesota is provided 10 Electors, a number equal to Minnesota's number of senators and representatives seated in the U.S. Congress. Minnesota currently has eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and two U.S. Senators.

Minnesota's slate of 10 Electors from the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party included: Arthur Anderson of Albert Lea; Bill Davis of Brooklyn Park; Jim Gremmels of Glenwood; Benjamin Gross of Eagan; David Lee of Minneapolis; Matt Little of Maplewood; Susan Kay Moravec of Shakopee; Al Patton of Sartell; Jackie Stevenson of Minnetonka; and Joan Wittman of Saint Paul.

The ceremony marks the 38th time the state's Electors have cast votes for president.  Minnesota Electors first cast ballots in 1860 when its four presidential and vice presidential votes were for Abraham Lincoln of Illinois ahd Hannibal Hamline of Maine, respectively.

President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden will take their oaths of office for a four-year term beginning at noon on January 20, 2008.

Answers to frequently asked questions about the Electoral College are available on the secretary of state's Web site homepage at www.sos.state.mn.us.

After an elector voted for John Edwards for president in the 2004 Electoral College meeting, the legislature revised the law as follows: “The elector shall speak aloud or affirm in a nonverbal manner the name of the candidate for president and for vice president for whom the elector is voting and then confirm that vote by written public ballot.” (M.S. §208.08)

Today, in this new public affirmation of their choice, an elector gave the name "Barack Hussein Obama" during the presidential balloting and another used the name "Joseph R. Biden, Jr." for the vice-presidential balloting, while the other electors used simply Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Largest Manual Recount In Minnesota State History Nears Completion

SECRETARY OF STATE MARK RITCHIE SAYS LARGEST MANUAL RECOUNT IN STATE HISTORY NEARS COMPLETION
Issues preliminary schedule for sorting of rejected absentee ballots

ST. PAUL, Minn.-Dec. 5, 2008―Secretary of State Mark Ritchie today said thanks to the commitment and efforts of local election officials across Minnesota, the largest manual recount in state history is nearly complete. Ritchie announced that counting concluded today with the exception of one precinct in the City of Minneapolis, which is currently searching for 133 missing ballots. To date, local election officials hand-counted and recorded 1,208,344 votes for Norm Coleman and 1,207,657 votes for Al Franken. Throughout the recount process the campaigns also registered thousands of ballot challenges-3,375 by Coleman and 3,280 by Franken.

"This was a monumental task of hand-counting over 2.9 million ballots in the U.S. Senate race in over 100 locations across the state," said Ritchie. "During this process, we put our election system under a microscope and have found ways to improve the process for the future. I applaud election officials for their professionalism displayed under such extraordinary circumstances, tight deadlines, and the scrutiny of political campaigns, their operatives, and the nation."

Ritchie went further by thanking the campaigns for taking steps to initially withdraw a number of challenged ballots. The state canvassing board on Nov. 26 sent a strong message to both campaigns to be prudent when making ballot challenges and to withdraw challenges without merit. Both campaigns have announced reductions-Franken withdrawing 633 challenges and Coleman withdrawing 650.

"I applaud both campaigns for beginning to withdraw some of their challenged ballots, and am pleased that they are planning to continue this process in earnest next week and substantially reduce these challenges before the state canvassing board convenes on Dec. 16," Ritchie said.

Ritchie also said the state canvassing board will meet on Dec. 12 to further discuss the issue of mistakenly rejected absentee ballots. A preliminary schedule for publicly sorting rejected absentee ballots is now available on the Secretary of State's Web site.

Ritchie announced that sorting of rejected absentee ballots will primarily begin on Monday, Dec. 8. The sorting is being conducted voluntarily by local election officials to provide the state canvassing board with an estimate of the number of absentee ballots that were mistakenly rejected because of an administrative error. The secretary of state's office has asked local election officials to finish by Dec. 18 and report their findings back to the office.

Minnesota Counties' Recount Completed

MINNESOTA COUNTIES’ RECOUNT COMPLETED
Coleman Campaign Thanks State’s Local Election Officials For Their Efforts

ST. PAUL - The Coleman campaign released the following statement from Cullen Sheehan, campaign manager:

“With Wright County completing its recount, an important phase of the Great Minnesota Recount has ended.  While we are pleased that we remain ahead in this recount, we want to give our thanks and appreciation for all Minnesota’s local election officials for their commitment to a fair, legal and transparent process.  We are confident that when the Canvassing Board begins meeting on December 16th and ultimately completes its work, that Norm Coleman will continue to be ahead, and will be re-elected to the United States Senate.  This recount process showed the best of Minnesota with the commitment of election officials to do their best to give the best possible result for the citizens of the state.”