Franken sues for lists of rejected voters

ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Al Franken, seeking to replace Norm Coleman as a Minnesota U.S. senator, sued Thursday to get lists of voters whose ballots were rejected.

Mark Elias, lead recount attorney for the Franken campaign, said that both Ramsey and Hennepin counties had rejected the campaign's request for the lists, forcing it to take the legal action, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis reported.

The often acrimonious campaign is under a mandated recount because a scant 200 votes separate the two candidates.

The Franken campaign said it hopes to force counties across the state to turn over lists of rejected voters who, if found to be eligible, could tip the balance.

Elias said the campaign already learned of one woman, an 84-year-old stroke victim, whose absentee ballot was disqualified because her signature no longer matched that on her pre-stroke voter registration card, the newspaper reported.

"The state may not devise a regime where a woman, because she had a stroke, does not have the right to vote," Elias said during a news conference announcing the lawsuit. "The only way we can ensure people were not disenfranchised is to check the lists."

Elias said the campaign would attempt to persuade the impaneled state Canvassing Board that it should count rejected absentee ballots if eligibility were confirmed.