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Court Orders Rejected Absentees Into Senate Count

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Dec 18, 2008 5:47 pm US/Central

Court Orders Rejected Absentees Into Senate Count

ST. PAUL (AP) ― The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that improperly rejected absentee ballots be included in the state's U.S. Senate recount.

Republican Norm Coleman had opposed counting those absentees, which are estimated at around 1,600. He was clinging Wednesday to a two-vote lead in the race.

The high court ordered the candidates to work with the Secretary of State and election officials to set up a process to identify ballots that were rejected in error. Counties must make a report by Dec. 31.

The Supreme Court said the candidates would then have a chance to challenge the absentees as they are unsealed and counted after that, just as they did during the earlier hand recount.

Justice Alan Page dissented with the ruling. He warned that giving the candidates a say in identifying the ballots was a mistake.

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Norm Coleman was born in New York City in 1949. Al Franken was born in New York City in 1951.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.