ST. PAUL, Minn., Dec. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., says Minnesota's canvassing board should drop its plans to count mistakenly rejected absentee ballots from the Nov. 4 election.
Coleman, leading Democratic challenger Al Franken by a scant 188 votes in the recount of the election for his Senate seat, filed suit with the state Supreme Court Saturday to force the canvassing board to set strict standards before counting about 1,500 absentee ballots, the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis reported.
Franken supporters had hailed Friday's board decision to include the disputed absentee ballots in the count, saying its was a victory in their efforts to enfranchise as many state residents as possible.
Coleman campaign attorney Fritz Knaak said his campaign is not trying to permanently stop the ballots from being counted, but just trying to get them counted right, the newspaper said. Knaak's court filing contends it might be constitutionally necessary to have the ballots examined in open court, where witnesses could be called to testify to their authenticity.
Franken spokesman Andy Barr said the court petition is merely an attempt to stop legally cast Minnesota votes from being included in the close recount, "plain and simple."
