Posted: November 13, 2008
MN Senate race - those 32 ballots were not left in a car for days
Cindy Reichert, Minneapolis Elections Director, explains in this report what really happened with the 32 absentee ballots that were allegedly left in a car for several days. The story has been repeated in many media outlets and was mentioned on this site as well, though the story that we cited also mentioned that the Coleman campaign had accepted assurances from officials that the ballots had always been secure. Apparently, the ballots were only in a car to be delivered to precincts on election night, a standard practice in many states that count paper ballots, including absentees, in-precinct. Some of the precincts closed before drivers, election judges acting in accordance with state law, arrived with the absentee ballot deliveries. The ballots were driven back to a city facility and kept secure until they were counted several days later. Minnesota's ballot security and chain of custody procedures are being closely watched in this Senate race.
PDF files in this site require
Commentary
Silence of the Lambs
Dale A. Oesterle
With the election of 2012 now well over and past the second inauguration of the incumbent President, the historical analysis of the events has begun and will last as long as written human history lasts. An interesting tidbit may already be lost to the majesty of the moment.
The voters of three very different states, Alaska, New Hampshire, and Ohio, all had an opportunity to call state constitutional conventions. In each state the voters turned the opportunity down by very similar votes, 68%, 64% and 68% respectively against.
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