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00:39 Dec 09 2008
Times Read: 737

When you vote, how do you know your vote won't be lost or misplaced? How do you know that if it gets counted once it will still be there if a recount is ordered? Our voting procedures would be laughable if they weren't so undemocratic and demoralizing.

Minneapolis Gives Up On Finding The Missing Ballots

By Eric Kleefeld of TPM

December 8, 2008, 3:57PM

Minneapolis has now called off the search for that missing envelope that's believed to contain 133 ballots favoring Al Franken, throwing yet another legal curveball into this never-ending recount.

The ballots were originally counted on Election Night and placed into a set of envelopes for this precinct numbered 1 to 5 -- but that "1" envelope now appears to be irretrievably missing. If the ballots are never recovered or somehow compensated for, it would cost Franken a net 46 votes, quite possibly enough to flip the race to Norm Coleman.

As we reported on Friday, the state does have an option here: Instead of just throwing out the votes of people who cast their ballots and were counted the first time around, the canvassing board can switch back to the Election Night tally in this one precinct, effectively undoing the loss.

During the Franken campaign's conference call earlier today, lead recount attorney Marc Elias strongly endorsed this idea: "Now you ought to know that there are cases that literally go back over a century throughout the country that counsel in favor of this approach."

No matter which decision the canvassing board ultimately makes, they should probably plan on a lawsuit from the losing side of the argument.

COMMENTS

DrJay
01:10 Dec 09 2008

I guess we never really do. Of course thats one reason why we have poll workers and some UN observers. As for undemocratic it would depend on how you're meaning.

Nightgame
02:37 Dec 09 2008

You know if there'd been a horrible acciden or something like a fire destroying them that's bad but understandable. But for the workers charged with transporting and protecting the votes to simply loose them is just flat wrong and and abuse of the public faith.