Could Allegations Invalidate Senate Results?

[Stellabella]

Source: wcco.com

Allegations have surfaced of voter irregularities involving a paid staffer of Norm Coleman, and the ramifications could have a profound impact on the outcome of Coleman's race against Al Franken.

A reporter for the Minnesota Independent, a progressive online publication, was working on a story about voter turnout when she overheard that Republican poll challengers monitoring voting at the precinct had brought in Mahamoud Wardere to help voters translate.

The Coleman campaign confirmed that Wardere is a paid member of their staff

"I had already spoken to at least three people who told me that translators were telling them to vote for Norm Coleman," she said.

The issue could end up being the basis of a legal challenge. According to Prof. Joe Daly of Hamline University, state election law has a provision that if there is a deliberate, serious or material violation of state election law, a district court judge must gather the evidence and present it to the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate, who would then decide the merits of the allegations.

The Senate could even revoke the results of the election and decide who would be seated as senator.

Read more: http://wcco.com/election/voter.irregularities.allegations.2.857437.html

---

Yippee!!

[liberalmuse]

1. Nothing is sacred to these people (Republicans).

If I had to spend one minute in their shoes I'd kill myself out of disgust and shame.

[Eugenian]

24. Re. "Nothing is sacred to these people"

I disagree. Power and money are sacred to them.

[Leftist Agitator]

35. "Power and money are sacred to them."

Indeed.

[ptolle]

49. power, money &

With your kind permission I'd add Heterosexuality, and the inherent "rights" of blastocyst-Americans. Beyond those little else.Just the nature of Coleman's usual acheisse- eating grin tells me there's no depth to which he wouldn't sink to hold onto his imagined power and fame.
Beyond the fact that I think Franken would be a reasoned, thoughtful, intelligent, and well-considered Senator the cranial trauma such an event would cause blowhardbillowlielly makes me wish all the harder for such an outcome.

[nxylas]

77. Different sets of Republicans

Power and money are sacred to the people who actually run the Republican party. The five Fs (fags, flags, fetuses, firearms and foreigners) are what they use to manipulate people who have neither power nor money into voting for them.

[66 dmhlt]

120. First time I've seen "Five Sacred Fs of republicans" - Thnx [n/t]

[nxylas]

123. That's cos I made it up

I have used variations of it on the Peace Takes Courage forum, but I think this is the first time I've used it on DU. I hope LGBT readers aren't offended by my use of the word "fags" - it is meant to represent how Republicans would likely refer to them, rather than me trying to insult anyone (plus it alliterates with the others and rhymes with flags).

[librechik]

132. excellent! n/t

[Cheap_Trick]

57. Power, money, and their version of Jaysus...

[IronLionZion]

119. Yes, tell me how much Jewish Norm Coleman loves Jesus. nt

[dflprincess]

124. Normie likes to tell the story of how, in 2002 after he won the election,

he stopped by the St. Paul Cathedral to say a prayer of thanks for his election. Laurie Coleman is Catholic so maybe weasel boy is used to being in a Catholic church and certainly anyone is welcome to stop in an say a prayer, but I've never understood why he didn't drop by one of the local synagogues.

[Enthusiast]

84. That's a fact! They will do anything for money and power.

Don't you wonder how many other close races they have altered?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

90. power, money, and those cute young Thai girls that

some GOP fat cats arranged for their last junket. So much for the family values crowd.

[ngant17]

96. those Asian sex workers may look young and clean

but unfortunately STDs are a serious problem in tropical parts of Asia, especially in these sex tourist sites in Thailand. Some STDs have no cure, new strains of drug-resistant gonorrhea are on the rise. This isn't even considering HIV which may not be detectable for many years down the road.

Best to stick with a single partner for as long as possible.

[L0oniX]

101. ...and young boys.and airport bathrooms

check this link to a huge list of the bastards...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2302579

:evilfrown:

[minnesota_liberal]

113. Another cornerstone: Hypocrisy

Everywhere I turn, they say one thing and do another, criticize the opposition for something and then do the same thing but worse, etc.

[joems]

100. Coleman's lead just 337 votes in Minn. Senate race

Coleman's lead just 337 votes in Minn. Senate race
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gMpTmr96V5hKIfyHT4Av4jsVQgrQD949KS680

[Joe Chi Minh]

122. Least of all elections!

[smiley_glad_hands]

2. Better send it over to the Senate when Cheney is out hunting. eom

[Randomthought]

41. Minnesota State Senate

If invalidated it would go to the state senate not the US Senate

[smiley_glad_hands]

87. Article says US senate. eom

[crossroads]

3. Great news... how sweet it is!

[Muttocracy]

4. Hmm, wonder if Somali immigrants coming to vote for Obama were misled?

'cause I can't see them voting for Coleman!

Minnesota Independent link
http://minnesotaindependent.com/16656/wcco-picks-up-our-somali-translator-story

[desktop]

5. There is a fair chance Franken would win a recount because..

Republicans by their very nature are more dishonest and much more likely to fabricate voters numbers. Some of the rural hand counts by the local Republican operatives are much more likely to have been deceptive rather than any Democratic operative hand counts.

[Randomthought]

42. MN law demands recount

when the vote is closer than .5% as it is in this case.

[SavageDem]

48. Not that I don't share your concerns, but...

...MN election law requires an election judge from each political party to participate when counting ballots. I was an election judge on Tuesday, and while our precinct utilized an ES&S Model 100 to tabulate the votes, we did have to review absentee and write-in ballots, and in those cases I was seated next to a Repub election judge.

Not that there still isn't a chance to do bad things, but it would be more difficult. When you're sitting at tables, it's hard to grab out ballots you don't agree with and secrete them somewhere. You'd have to really work at it, and to do any sort of numbers would be very hard. People tend to notice when you slide a big old 8^1/2"x14" heavyweight paper down your pants. And it's really difficult to move around when you've got 75 of them there...

I've done two elections now, and I actually feel that the election judges want to count the votes accurately. I think more harm is done in new voter registration, where I have witnessed some - perhaps unintentional - cases where the election judge was wrongly requiring documentation that wasn't necessary, or invalidating correct documentation. I feel very good about this election in that regard, as I put an end to some of that by repeatedly shoving the election rules manual in the face of one offender until she finally got it.

I am definitely concerned about the reports - going back years - about the inaccuracy of the Model 100 tabulating machines. And that's why I'm also buoyed up by the advent of a hand recount.

[wolfgangmo]

62. A great argument for NO voting machines. Period.

Everything should be hand counted at least by two intendant judges or teams and then the counting and additions should be triple checked. It is the only accurate way.

I worked in a max security prison and the count is so critical in this place that they insist that it is counted by 4 independent guards, added up and then verified before each stage is passed on. Everyone involved in the count signs and is responsible for the accuracy.

Any machine can be manipulated. And computer counts are inherently flawed according to the computer experts who hang out at bugtraq .

Electronic votes are wasted. No other western democracy has these problems. No other citizens of other western democracies have the percentages of the population not sure if their vote will count. That is so wrong. No one should wonder if their vote will count. None. In a functioning democracy there would be no doubt.

How come Canada, with a larger land mass, and a much smaller population and being much more spread out, can hold an election in 6 weeks, start to finish, and have the votes tabulated in usually 1 hour of the polls closing? They only use paper ballots and number 2 pencils. And they do send some ballot boxes by dog sled. By dog sled! If they can do it so easily, inexpensively, and accurately, then why don't we?

There is only one reason for all of the confusion. In order to influence and steal elections.

In my mind there is no difference between trying to steal an election and trying to take the government over by force. The penalty should be the same.

[dglow]

92. The smoking gun!

This accusation of election fraud could be the one to prompt true reform. The fact that their are witnesses who can testify to the manipulation means that election fraud cannot be ignored. The HAVA will need to be trashed and new regulations put in place to ensure paper and pencil voting for all election from here on in. It is obvious that the pugs decided to focus their tampering on key Senate races to keep the Dems from the 60 vote majority needed to stop filibusters by the nasty minority. Greg Palast and Robert Kennedy Jr. have charged that the Georgia Senate race has been turned in favor of Repug Chambliss. I wouldn't be surprised if Mitch McConnell in Kentucky didn't benefit from a little hanky panky in Kentucky as well.

[LiberalFighter]

114. It's easier and faster to count the votes IF

instead of sending all the ballots to a central location in the county they were counted AT the voting site by the pollworkers.

If total number of voting sites is 100 and turnout was about 400 per site there would be a total of 40,000 voters. It would be easier to count the 400 votes then it would be to count the 40,000 votes.

Plus, it would be more difficult to have the ballots counted wrong at each voting site compared to at one location.

[ieoeja]

71. During Florida 2000 Republicans repeatedly and incorrectly claimed Nixon conceded Illinois to JFK.

While in actuality they did begin a recount in Illinois at Nixon's request. But the Illinois Republicans got Nixon to drop it as the recount found few irregularities in Chicago while the whole election in the 'burbs appeared to be fixed.

There is a reason Illinois Republicans have been eviscerated by Fitzgerald while the Chicago Machine just lost one or two bad apples (I can actually only think of one guy in charge of truck leasing). It isn't because Fitz hasn't investigated. He has. He just can't find anything. There is nothing there to find. Even in the Rezko trial, while dozens of people were implicated, 100% of them were fucking Republicans!

[vixengrl]

6. Norm Coleman just has a way about him--

don't know what it is, but I easily could do without him, anyway. Add this to his ethics issues and just the sleaze of his tendency to say it with lawsuits is just enough. But wow!

The issue could end up being the basis of a legal challenge. According to Prof. Joe Daly of Hamline University, state election law has a provision that if there is a deliberate, serious or material violation of state election law, a district court judge must gather the evidence and present it to the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate, who would then decide the merits of the allegations.

The Senate could even revoke the results of the election and decide who would be seated as senator.

If you'll allow my adding my own emphasis--that's actually kind of a weird thing, isn't it? Say, Reid decides the Senate should call it. The Senate holds a session with its present mix? I'm no oddsmaker, but I suspect that one would go to the wire, too. It would make for great C-span watching, though. Or due to time constraints, would that be the next session? Different result. Good one.

(Anybody know the ins-and-outs of that? Or am I dense and missed it?)

I'm for Franken, myself. He's good enough, he's smart enough, and doggone, something like 50% of the people in his home state like him.

[TygrBright]

8. There's a reason he's known as Norm the Weasel...

...among his loving constituents. And it isn't just his

naked, calculating, ruthless political ambition

Heavens, no.

helpfully,
Bright

[jwirr]

54. He tried to play the Democrat side once and then when the tide turned

he said he was a pug. NOW when the tide has once again turned I wonder if he will buddy up to our side again? He ran a dirty misleading campaign that reflected his character and I hope he loses this but I cannot see the *ss administration doing anything about his cheating.

What the f--k is wrong with MN voters?

[wolfgangmo]

65. We have been out-funded.

Tons of repub money has flowed to this state in the past number of years to turn this state.

Understand that this is a rural area where the only radio you can get might be AM and the only TV might be Fox, because those formats make sure that they are in the rural areas. Combine that with a bit of a lax old boys network in the DFL party and you have an organization that is outfunded and our organized.

I should also mention that the last 20 years has seen a massive influx of fundamental mega churches who preach the end of times. This is exactly why the loon, M. Bachmann got re-elected ; she has a huge group of religious nuts who are told by their ministers to vote for her or spend eternity in hell.

This is a good place with mostly good people. Look at Al. He's a good guy. Look at Garrison Keillor. He's a good guy.

Don't give up on us. Help us. In 2010 take a few weeks off and visit and help us organize and GOTV. If you give us a chance I promise, we won't disappoint you again

[jwirr]

68. I am from the Arrowhead region in MN and my guess is that if we

did not vote a straight Dem as we usually do it was coleman's misleading campaign. I am waiting to see the county by county returns to see what really came down.

[LiberalFighter]

115. If they are going to preach the end of time they should hurry up and make it happen.

[roguevalley]

7. Al will pursue this. This is Paul's seat. he won't give up

[mzmolly]

10. I hope so.

If not, the DFL should.

[wolfgangmo]

67. Paul Wellstone. RIP.

I miss him still.

Question: how did the FBI get to his crash site that was 3.5 hours from their office within a half hour, why did they kick all local police off the crash site, what did they do until the NTSB showed up and assumed control? I'm not saying there was a cover-up, but if it smells like shit, it probably is shit. Norm Coleman was getting his ass kicked despite the national RNC pumping truckloads of money into his campaign. He didn't have a shot until that plane came down. What did the FBI take away from that site?

If you want to honor Paul Wellstone's memory then send a donation to Wellstone Action, which was established by his family and political team to carry on his legacy. They use donations to train young and old progressives to go out and win elections. It is money well spent. Here is the link. http://www.wellstone.org/

[dflprincess]

82. Actually Normie wasn't getting his ass kicked.

There's no need to rewrite history.

Up until the vote on the Iraq War Resolution they were running neck and neck, with Normie having a slight lead (but within the margin of error) in some polls. After the IWR vote (which Wellstone voted against - the only senator up for reelection with the guts to do so) Wellstone did surge in the polls and was ahead of Weasel-boy and outside the margin of error on the day he died. But he wasn't so far ahead thay any of us were breathing easy.

Oh, and it wasn't just local police pulled off the crash site - it was the local fire department as well so the wreckage was allowed to burn. Not that anyone had any reason to destroy evidence :sarcasm:

[wcepler]

9. voter fraud saved to key Senatorial races

EXACTLY as I suspected. The pugs saved their voter fraud for key Senatorial races, since they know they couldn't stop Obama. Notice how everyone was talking about voter fraud before the election and then suddenly it dropped out of site. But clearly it DIDN'T, they just saved it for these key races.
Slime, slime, Slime.

Go Al!

[bitchkitty]

14. You mean election fraud. n/t

[Sirveri]

17. I think they used it in the Presidential race too.

You had ND polling at a 1 point spread, and they ended up being 8 points differant? How does a candidate gain 7 points in a single day? MT and AZ had a 4 point spread, GA had a 3 point spread. GA went to 7 points, while AZ went to 9 points and MT stayed at 3? So MT had perfect polling while polling in GA was off by 4 points and AZ was off by 5? AZ can be tossed to being McCains home state, but GA? A lot of the races we won are showing strange numbers as well. PA showed an 8 point spread on e-day and polled at 11 for Obama. NV on the other hand was reverse, a 6 point lead for Obama turned into a 14 point lead.

So why are the polls so far off from the results.

[Eugenian]

25. Could be a little Bradley effect. nt

[d_b]

40. this pisses me off

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7803641&mesg_id=7803641

[bobbolink]

83. Please don't use the RW obfuscating terms! NOT "voter fraud"... Election fraud.

If we keep using this term, we collude with them in making the USians think there is rampant numbers of people voting fraudulently.

That is NOT the case.

[BearSquirrel2]

95. Something stinks in Alaska ...

Something definitely stinks to high heaven in Alaska.

Ted Stevens was running neck and neck in the polls until he was convicted. Then, he dropped 15 points. All the other results around the nation seemed to be in the 3-4% margin of error. The Senate race in Alaska was 15 FUCKING POINTS OFF!!!!! This has election fraud written all over it.

I hope the Minnesota and Alaska issues go to court so we can uncover these slimeballs and finally get rid of the 100% electronic machines.

[BrklynLiberal]

11. That would be even better than just getting fewer votes..if Coleman is kicked out due to fraud.

[wordpix]

121. count on Coleman saying it was a "rogue" campaign staffer & he had nothing to do with it

[krispos42]

12. Don't give up, Al!!!

GET HIM!!!

[JI7]

13. Coleman is such a scumbag

[BradBlog]

15. These are not "voter irregularities"...

"Allegations have surfaced of voter irregularities"

I wish reporters could get this shit right. There are no "voter irregularities" here. The voters are doing fine. As usual. Please leave them alone.

These are, however, election irregularities and/or campaign irregularities and/or legal violations and/or criminal fraud.

[bleever]

18. "Voter irregularities" might apply to

constipation from standing in a line all day.

It's a refinement of "voter fraud", which of course is a bassackwards way of referring to election fraud.

:thumbsup:

[orleans]

30. brad, listen to randi's show from wednesday

i download it on realplayer and the part i want you to hear (re al, air america, 2004, and now) comes on at 58 minutes into the download. http://www.novamradio.com/live/


"i haven't said anything throughout his entire campaign. i haven't said a word to hurt him nor have i said a word to help him. i just stayed completely out of it. but i got to tell you that the irony is so not lost on me that in 2004 i was banned from the airwaves in the election coverage at air america because i wanted to tell the nation that we were broadcasting to that night that ohio was being stolen in front of my eyes. they were in new york and i was down in florida because i wanted to vote here...i was hyper-alert to what was rumored to what was to be another stolen election. it was being stolen in ohio, there was black box voting going on there that was being routed to republican operatives--this year there were instructions that if they were black box voting to unplug the machine and not go through antibody's computer. because it was being routed through a republican operative's computer and they were flipping votes and stealing votes and they had only put a couple of machines in black districts--and i saw it all happening and i wanted to say something and i was banned from doing so. because the feeling was that there was no such thing as voter irregularities--as they called it. i was calling it the theft of an election because it was stolen from me the election before. and i wasn't allowed to say that--they just stopped coming to me--they didn't turn on my studio here in florida. and i won't mention all the people who were involved but they know who they are and they should be absolutely ashamed, and yet they're not. they're not. their careerists--they say.

"now al franken is saying that he would like a recount because he believes there were voter irregularities in MN. at the very least, al's gonna get some material out of it but after he gets done eating his words about no voter irregularities in 2004, if he has any room in his stomach he'll apologize to me. and maybe i'll talk to him.

"i cannot believe the irony of that race. i cannot believe it. it's like karma--this was like a karma election."

(fuck it. if you've read all this i guess you don't have to listen.)

[Botany]

51. Brad i worked in Columbus OH

ess i-votronic machines were used .... @ the precinct I was watching
9% of all voters who used the machines recorded no votes and did not
show up as even voting.

[bobbolink]

86. Sadly the reporters won't "get it right" when even Dems can't "get it right".

So many "progressives" parrot the same stuff, no matter how many times they are reminded.

:(

It's FRAUD, pure and simple!

[Eugenian]

16. I think Harry Reid

should be nice to LIEberman for now, because we might end up with 58 Dems + LIEberman and Sanders.

[Jack Rabbit]

19. The presiding officer of the Senate on January 3, 2009 will still be the Big Dick

We're screwed.

[bjobotts]

21. Yeah, but with no teeth

[Randomthought]

43. Not the US Senate!

The Minnesota State Senate which has a Dem majority.

[Stellabella]

63. It has a HUGE Democratic majority.

Well over 2/3.

[dflprincess]

81. No, it is the U.S. Senate that would make the decision

from the 'CCO link in the original post "...a district court judge must gather the evidence and present it to the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate, who would then decide the merits of the allegations. The Senate could even revoke the results of the election and decide who would be seated as senator."

[bjobotts]

20. All of these voting blocks and hassels are so unnecessary and avoidable.

This huge democracy and here we are expected to vote on one day without opportunity to make any necessary corrections to our registrations that would allow us to do so. Using Privatized vote counting systems that we can't monitor or correct even when they give us bad results. We boast of being a progressive nation always one of the leads of progress and we haven't even fixed our voting problems.
Completely unnecessary. When will the dems take control of this situation and end this republican obstructionism?

[defendandprotect]

73. CORRUPTION isn't based on being "progressive" -- it's intended to steal elections--!!

[Proud-D]

22. We all know

that the presiding officer of the Senate who is Dick the VP aka tricky dicky will NOT find any merit from a judges finding even if there is merit. It wont go past his desk at the Naval Observatory. The only recourse at that point that I see is to Impeach the DICK or at least start the process. Maybe Nancy will grow a pair now that the Democratic party will finally have the Wight House back! (sorry if that came off as crude)

[meowomon]

23. What "pair" exactly should she grow?

So this wasn't crude, just possibly sexist. Or maybe you were referring to a pair of ovaries? Or breasts? Or what other anatomy part should she grow?

[Proud-D]

32. Meowomon

in regards to my description towards Nancy's insistence on taking impeachment off the table I was not speaking literally I was speaking figuratively. And figuratively speaking I can not think of a more apt description of her stance on this issue. Its a figure of speech and I have heard my own sister say the same thing about Nancy and I do not think my sister is sexist. But I will admit that it is a crude proverbially and I did not use apt judgment when I posted it. I apologize, some times I take my passions regarding subjects such as this too far.

[King Coal]

97. Nuts

[bahrbearian]

55. pcpolicewoman ?

[AlbertCat]

79. Perhaps a pair of faces?

[Stellabella]

64. It's the Minnesota Senate who will decide.

And that body has a 2/3 Democratic majority.

[LynneSin]

26. holy shit -they tried to do this in Allyson Schwartz district in Pennsylvania back in 04

It was a predominantly russian district and someone would show up that said they were there to help the voters translate.

[ColbertWatcher]

27. Oh man. Coleman, you screwed up. n/t

[Window]

28. No wonder: Coleman says - "If he was Franken, he wouldn't request a recount."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7797231

Coleman - "If he was Franken he wouldn't request a recount"

As a recount looms over Minnesota's hotly contested Senate race, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) said this morning that if he were in the shoes of opponent Al Franken, he would refuse a recount and let a "healing process" begin for Minnesotans. Coleman declared victory in the race at an early morning press conference.

Although the final tally has not yet been released, unofficial tallies report a 400 to 700 vote margin in Coleman’s favor– well within the requirements for a recount under Minnesota state law.

“If you asked me what I would do, I would step back,” Coleman told reporters, calling Franken’s likelihood of overturning enough votes to win “extremely, extremely, extremely remote.”

[JawJaw]

31. "Healing Process"

You gotta cut out the diseased flesh before the healing process can begin..

Pack your bags, Norm

[jwirr]

56. Okay, coleman, the vote is very close and you are accused of voter

fraud - step back and get out of the way.

[RedLetterRev]

69. Please, people, let's distinguish and not use the repuke mem

Coleman is implicated in ELECTION fraud.

The voters didn't do anything wrong. His minions tried to swing the election. Damn big difference.

[KamaAina]

66. If I were Franken, I wouldn't have to. MN law calls for an *automatic* recount

when the difference is less than, I believe, one-half of one percent.

Apparently Coleman doesn't know that. Where'd he get his poli sci degree? Sarah Palin University? :dunce:

[barack the house]

29. Woooo hope yet. I was so down about that race total injustice the stunts they pulled.. =)

The more seats the merrier I am also dubious about McConnell's re-election but we'll let that pass.

[dmr]

33. If Al needs money to fight this - I'm in, just tell me where to send it

I just don't get how these voters could vote for Coleman. Geez, it's Paul's seat. How could they replace a more than wonderful man with a slimeball? I just don't get it - though I do understand election fraud, then and now.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

34. An Al Franken defense fund - A worthy DU cause. If one gets started, I'm in. nt

[DeepBlueC]

44. Defense...?

What does Franken need to be defended from? Defense funds are for people CHARGED.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

102. How about defended from injustice, or if it's discovered, election fraud. Does that work for YOU?

[DeepBlueC]

116. In that case he would be the PLAINTIFF

[Piewhacket]

36. Argggg At this moment Mn Sec State reports less than 0.01% diff.

As of this moment

MN Sec State reports 0.01% diff between Franken and Coleman


Republican NORM COLEMAN 1211520 41.99
Democratic-Farmer-Labor AL FRANKEN 1211083 41.98

Independence DEAN BARKLEY 437345 15.16
Libertarian CHARLES ALDRICH 13916 0.48
Constitution JAMES NIEMACKL 8906 0.31


ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG.... NAIL BITER!!!
GO AL... WIN AL .... GO AL.... WIN AL...

[tom_paine]

37. BUSTED you Bushie-Nazi FUCKS!

We TOLD you if you kept pulling this shit that eventually we'd bust your ass and expose it to the WORLD!

Now, it begins. EVERYONE will see what Kinder and Gentler Nazi assholes the Bushies have become.

Keep overreaching, assholes. The more people hate you, the MORE you should try to cheat, you Bushie-Nazi assholes.

Go ahead fuckers, cheat some more. See what happens!

[PittDem]

38. Volunteers for political campaigns don't take election day off, much less Staffers

The idea would be completely laughable, if it were not criminal.

[Blue Belle]

117. Who says this staffer wasn't working?

Clearly he was doing his job.

[dflprincess]

125. The staffer claims he was "on vacation" Tuesday

No kidding, he said that.

[Wetzelbill]

39. These people are selfish, they care little, if at all, about our country nt

[antimatter98]

45. May I just point out that Franken put down the notion of this in 2004...

I mean, stealing the vote issues. This was when he was on
Air America Radio.

It's ironic that now, he is seeing these possibilities up close and
personal.

Didn't happen, can't happen Al, just concede so we can move on, ok? ;)

Stop whining Al. Oh, you mean it's happening to YOU this time?

[riverdale]

60. Ironic how history repeats itself

I now predict DU will erupt in irrational hatred for one James Niemackl of the Constitution Party. How dare he run for office without being a member of one of the two major parties?

[JJ]

99. Did James Niemackl say "There's no difference between Franken and Coleman"?

Did he target districts that leaned Democratic?
Did Republicans help finance his campaign?

[riverdale]

104. Nader didn't say that

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/550/

Goodman: "Ralph Nader, you said in 2000 it doesn’t really matter whether Gore or Bush is president. Do you feel that way today?"

Nader: "I didn’t say that. I said the similarities between Bush and Gore tower over the dwindling real differences that they’re willing to argue over."

[pleah]

46. Oh, I hope they kick Coleman out permanently!

Go, Al!

[PatrynXX]

47. Just remember the Twin Cities in Aug-sept

when the authorities in Minnesota decided to trample all over the constitution and arresting the press and peaceful protesters left and right. Norm looks like a thug.

[Doctor_J]

50. If we had a Big Media outlet, they'd be declaring Franken the winner by now

Franken should declare himself the winner.

[Plucketeer]

52. Once they NAIL this WEASEL,

They need to skin him and his accomplices and set their pelts out to dry. Then Palin and Stevens could decorate their homes with them.

[beyurslf]

53. Coleman's pais staff member took a "vacation day" on election day? And retailers give vacation on

Black Friday.

[xxqqqzme]

58. OK, now let us talk about 'voter fraud'

Whatever the publicans accuse the Democrats of doing, hold a mirror up to their faces.

And Obama wants a 'bi-partisan' administration. While I applaud the sentiment, desire and understand his generational change base, the publicans will use that crack in the door; wedge it open and drive in the hate/fear zamboni to cover the good intentions, so the Democrats slip and fall on their faces AGAIN.

Wasn't it just yesterday normie was urging Franken to waive the recount? Now we know why.

[whistle]

59. Republicans must cheat to win it seems

[defendandprotect]

74. ..that's always been true -- question it all back to mid-1960's ...

The large computer counters used by "press" began to come in mid-late 60's ...

lots of breakdowns and odd results led these two journalists to begin an

investigation --



http://www.constitution.org/vote/votescam__.htm

[HEyHEY]

61. Okay, looking at this soberly - is there a chance anything will change?

[defendandprotect]

75. Yes .. but not in time to save the polar bears nor ourselves/planet--

[lies and propaganda]

70. good luck to Al & the people of Minnesota

I have a girlfriend in Bemidji and she says that the state is hurting badly and that Coleman isnt a true 'Sotan and needs to go ;0

[baldguy]

72. The basic tenet of democracy is that government derives it's power from will the people.

Republicans will use every opportunity to subvert that will.

[texastoast]

76. Puke slime

Not surprising.

:puke:

[derby378]

78. Could there be criminal charges in the near future?

There should be. If this allegation is true, this tactic stinks to high heaven. I'm an election judge, and I do not tell anyone how to vote, and I won't abide any election clerk who tries to do that.

[desktop]

80. Lead now down to 337 votes

Norm Coleman knows a recount has more than a 50% chance of him losing. I have no doubt Republican cheating in the vote counting will be a lot more prevalent than the other way around.

[bobbolink]

85. Perfect Poetic Justice for Al... who denigrated all those who talked about Electile Dysfunction.

Maybe he's ready to apologize to those he insulted???

Maybe he's ready to WORK to change the sad election mess in this country?

I don't normally believe in karma, but this seems to be a perfect example of what goes around comes around.

Be humble, Al. Admit you were wrong.

[LTR]

88. Norm Coleman can't win an election without cheating

Just a lousy politician.

[Piewhacket]

89. Sweet Lord... Mn SS has it down to about 300 votes

100% reported.
Dammit. Shoulda sent Al more money.
Dammit dammit dammit.
Its my fault.

We need Al. It has to be Al.

[WA98070]

91. Interesting. Thanks for pointing this out.

[humbled_opinion]

93. OMG

Just give it to Franken the Electorate was loud and clear it wants change and Democratic control.

[humbled_opinion]

94. OMG

Just give it to Franken the Electorate was loud and clear it wants change and Democratic control.

[Claire Beth]

98. Hang in there Al !!!!!

[joems]

103. Problem-plagued ballot scanners could impact Coleman-Franken recount

http://minnesotaindependent.com/16777/problem-plagued-ballot-scanners-could-impact-coleman-franken-recount

[Leo 9]

105. November 6 and still counting: Coleman leads by 336, three seats in state legislature also up for re

November 6 and still counting: Coleman leads by 336, three seats in state legislature also up for recount



By Mary Turck ,
November 06, 2008
Here’s the scoop on recounts in Minnesota:

Four races are so close that they have triggered automatic recounts. State law requires a recount in races within a margin of victory of 0.5%..

At close of day on Thursday, Norm Coleman led Al Franken by 336 votes in the Senate race.

Two Minnesota House races must have recounts. In District 12B up in Morrison County, DFL incumbent Al Doty leads Republican candidate Mike Lemieur by 76 votes. In District 16A, DFL candidate Lisa Fobbe leads Republican candidate Alison Krueger by 85 votes. Minnesota Senate District 16 also must have a recount, as DFL candidate Ken Kelash leads Republican Craig Marston by 99 votes. District 16 includes most of Sherburne County.

The State Canvassing Board, as specified by state law, will meet on November 18 to certify the election results. A recount cannot begin until after the board meets. The board will consist of Secretary of State Ritchie, two Minnesota Supreme Court justices, and two Minnesota district court judges to be determined. The legislative recount will take several days, and the Senate recount will take longer.

snip

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2008/11/06/november-6-and-still-counting-coleman-leads-336-three-seats-state-legislature-als


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4400234&mesg_id=4400234

[beac]

106. K&R n.t

[kma3346]

107. It's at 236 now!

According to the SOS website.

[beac]

108. With this AND the news about faulty optical scanners, I think the chances of getting to say "Senator

Franken" are very good indeed! :bounce:

[lojasmo]

109. Holy hell.

That's over 150 votes corrected today.

[RiverStone]

111. OK, in the last 6 hours Al has gained 100+ votes --- what is left to be re-verified???

This is looking veeeeeeeeeeeery interesting! :)

[Cherokee4Obama]

110. WORM Coleman

this slimeball, along with the former wrestler/former governor Jesse the Booby Ventura, all the way to the present with the slick DICK Pawlenty, has done more to bring down the once majestic Minnesota political environment than the tragic death of Paul Wellstone (who's "accident" I STILL believe was just too convenient to precipitate WORM getting "elected")
in light of this report of rethuglican shenanigans, a new inquiry into the MURDER of Wellstone should be opened!:mad:

[lonestarnot]

112. The Senate could even revoke the results of the election and decide who would be seated as senator.

Woohoo!

[Blue Belle]

118. Are there any new updates to this story?

Are they following up on the allegations? Have they found any more cases of Somali-Americans being told who to vote for?

[dflprincess]

126. The link to the Minneapolis paper is

www.startribune.com, a couple local tv stations are www.wcco.com & www.kare11.com so you can keep up with the developments.

According to the article in today's Strib, one reason for the big change in votes yesterday was the election officials in Partridge Township (Pine County) discovered that when recording the votes someone had entered 24 for Franken instead of the 124 they should have entered. The original vote was entered at 5:25 Wednesday morning so after nearly 24 hours of working the election it's not surprising something like this happened.

These are the kinds of errors they're finding now before the recount begins. Mistakes like this are often found right after the election - though they usually don't matter so much - there's no reason to think the votes were intentionally entered incorrectly.

[No Elephants]

127. Is it illegal or "irregular?"

[Unca Jim]

128. Relax, people...

It's super-mega close, so the recount will happen. We'll find out the real total, and that person will be the next Senator. Historically, recounts favor the Democrat because the GOP cages, discards, and ignores more DFL ballots that vice-versa.

Still, I need to make this point again: A lot of Minnesotans like Norm Coleman and don't like Al Franken for reason I do not understand. It really was this close. We have *squeaky* clean elections in Minnesota. We also have a dedicated cadre of fetus worshipers who will vote for Satan himself if he claims to be pro-life.

Why, then, does Al keep getting more votes? Various human errors so far. The last 100 he got resulted from when a poll worker in a rural area entered a vote total of 024 instead of 124. Look at your keypad, it's easy to do. It was noted and the tally was amended. Unless a conspiracy is uncovered, I expect Al will win with a tiny margin like Gregorie did in Washington.

Norm, slime that he is, is just playing the victim card. The recount must and will happen, even if he doesn't like the results.

[Doughboy71]

129. It is also inter sting to note...

Only Franken's total is changing...Not Normies...Once the recount actually begins all three candidates totals should change, but if there were no shenanigans going on they should be finding missed ballots for all three, not just Al.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

130. One word:

Nifong.

OK, more words. It takes more than allegations. Thankfully so.

[GetTheRightVote]

131. How low will you go ? Repubs go pretty low.

:kick: