Moving Ballots

County registrars from across the state are collating ballots for delivery to St. Paul, today. Soon they will get another look, 4, even 5 maybe the 6th look in some cases. The STRIB has an interesting article and a family's ballot saga:

In February, Coleman's list of 3,687 rejected absentee ballots included both Stockes and Zirkle among 21 voters' ballots from Aitkin County that his campaign believed should have been counted. The former senator, behind in the recount, was working hard to get as many rejected absentee ballots counted as possible.

Then in early March, a Franken list suggested that Tim and Karen Stocke's ballots lacked evidence of being legally cast. As for Zirkle, the Franken list also noted there was no proof she was registered.

Zirkle was the only one of the three who made Coleman's final list of ballots that he hoped to have considered. And Tim Stocke was the only one to make Franken's final list.

And the kicker:

Amid all the complexities, one point can be missed: Just whom did the Stocke household vote for?

Three votes for Franken, Karen Stocke said. "We're all Democrats."

No matter what the dissenters say, this has been a thorough, fair, and painstaking process. The only thing I would change in statute, is that the Election Contest winner should receive an election certificate while the appeals continue. To make the state wait, regardless of who the victor is, seems so wrong.

Flash