By BRIAN BAKST and MARTIGA LOHN
Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. — In a tiny county far from the expected hotspots in the Minnesota governor's race recount, election officials found themselves dealing with campaign representatives determined to challenge votes.
More precisely, volunteers for Republican Tom Emmer moved Monday to put the brakes on votes headed for Democrat Mark Dayton's column. In all, Emmer's team tried to send 423 of the roughly 6,300 ballots cast in Renville County to a challenge pile, baffling Dayton's campaign and the local officials.
"We had one bona fide challenge," said county auditor/treasurer Larry Jacobs, who described how an Emmer representative apologized for "what I'm instructed to do." The 422 others were classified as "frivolous."
Dayton led by about 8,800 votes coming into the recount, meaning Emmer has more incentive to shake up the count.
According to Minnesota Secretary of State figures, recount work has concluded for about 62 percent of precincts, encompassing more than 947,000 votes. Dayton picked up 20 votes compared with his Nov. 2 tallies for those precincts and Emmer lost four. Some counties didn't report any first-day data, though.
As the recount headed for a second day Tuesday, Emmer was outpacing Dayton by more than 3-to-1 in ballot challenges, which can temporarily alter the vote count.
Unless the challenges are withdrawn later, the disputed ballots will go before the five-member state canvassing board. Two years ago in Minnesota's U.S. Senate recount, the board overruled most challenges.
The stir in Renville County, a couple of hours west of the Twin Cities, caught many by surprise. Dayton's team puzzled over the onslaught, but the Emmer campaign defended its strategy.
"Emmer challengers take their roles very seriously and are working hard to ensure that every legally cast vote is counted accurately," Emmer spokesman Carl Kuhl said late Monday.
[...] The goal is to wrap up the taxpayer-funded recount by mid-December. The loser has an option to sue in court, which could delay a resolution for weeks and months. If Jan. 3 arrives without a conclusion, there's a strong possibility GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty would stay on - although Dayton has made rumblings about fighting that outcome.
More than two dozen counties finished on the first day. The others must be done by early next week, giving the canvassing board time to rule on the challenges.
In Hennepin County, home to one-fifth of Minnesota's voters, attorneys clashed over how challenged ballots should be handled, particularly those that officials had the power to deem "frivolous."
County elections manager Rachel Smith convened a closed-door meeting to get them on the same page.
Emphasis added. Subpoena a statement, who exactly instructed the shamed Renville County GOP miscreant to be an a******? Then work upward with sworn statements along the GOP food-chain, to the top a****** forming challenge policy. Bringing shame upon themselves and the State is not good for them, or the State.
_________UPDATE_________
It would not surprise me if papers such as the one in Seattle are mirrored in other states, possibly having a motive to show businesses why they should stay where they are or least why they should think twice about relocating to an unstable floozy-headed locale, such as Minnesota with groundless political denial abounding about the clear Dayton election win.
And the GOP's been giving such lip service to wanting to attract business and make us all more prosperous. How should we square actions with words?
_________FURTHER UPDATE________
Can you say, Trimble? Can you say "the usual suspect?"
Does the buck stop there, or is this a cutout, paid to be so to keep the buck from passing higher? Go figure.
Read the colloquy with reporters; judge the man - he did take an oath to be allowed to practice law.
___________FURTHER UPDATE___________
This one is under the "You've got to be kidding," category, Talking Points Memo quoting Strib reporting:
To speed things up on Wednesday, [Hennepin County election manager Rachel] Smith asked to add three or four counting tables to the 25 already set up.
Trimble objected, saying if she did so, the campaign would take the county to court. "They can't change the rules," he said.
The state Republican Party also blasted Smith. In a statement, the party said Smith "tried to change the rules in the middle of game to advance the interests of Mark Dayton."
If adding counting tables to expedite a recount and reach a reliable result more quickly is "to advance the interests of Mark Dayton," what are this clown pack saying about what they are up to in order to impede the interests of Mark Dayton?
You think and expect them to think before speaking, and expecting that, thinking that, you get surprised. We will sue to delay your expediting things because we know we've not a prayer of prevailing so that expediting things in an orderly way is "advancing the interests of Mark Dayton," is an admission of a bogus intent. Lawyers in civil litigation at the District Court level have Rule 11 to face:
By presenting to the court (whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating) a pleading, written motion, or other paper, an attorney or unrepresented party is certifying that to the best of the person’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances,
(a) it is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation;
(b) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions therein are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law or the establishment of new law; [...]
I am certain that there are comparable rules at the appellate level, probably more stringently enforced because the higher up that pecking order you go the more the individuals think, in general, of their own importance in the scheme of things and hence about those who are disrespectful to their rank. As in, "Don't waste my time," Tony. Smith abandoned the move to move more quickly, as not worth the challenge, so the test of Tony before appellate judges with that brand of nonsense unfortunately never materialized. Can you envision it?
_______________FURTHER UPDATE___________
Are we being subjected to bozo ballot beligerance?
Look at representative online evidence. The proof is in the pudding so have a taste.
Would you take this kind of thing to a judge, where the standard is uncertainty of voter intent?
How low of an opinion of judges do you hold? What about Tony Trimble? What's your guess of his respect for the bench if he'd show up and argue these cases?