The statewide canvassing board unanimously voted down a request from Al Franken’s campaign to examine rejected absentee ballots at a meeting this morning. The five-member panel, charged with overseeing the U.S. Senate recount, did not rule on the merits of the Democrat’s case, but rather determined that it did not have the jurisdiction to consider the matter.

“We do not have the authority to review rejected absentee ballots,” said board member Kathleen Gearin, a Ramsey County District Court judge. “That’s the bottom line.”

Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson noted that the panel’s mandate only extends to recounting votes that have already been cast. “Rejected ballots are not cast ballots,” he said.

But the ruling doesn’t necessarily mean that improperly rejected absentee ballots will not be included in the recount. Under state law, such ballots can only be disallowed for one of four reasons. The canvassing board was uncertain what directive — if any — to provide local election officials for dealing with ballots that have been rejected for reasons that don’t fit any of those criteria.

The discussion was prompted, in part, by a letter from Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman seeking guidance in reviewing whether absentee ballots were improperly rejected. “I have very little doubt that in reviewing the rejected absentee ballots cities and counties will find a limited number of unintentional errors,” Freeman wrote.

He went on to suggest a system whereby local election officials would sort rejected ballots into five piles, indicating either the reason that they were disallowed or that no basis could be determined for the ballot being thrown out. “In this way, cities and counties would, at least, be afforded the opportunity to identify and seek to correct erroneous determinations that a ballot should be rejected,” Freeman wrote.

The canvassing board didn’t rule on the issue this morning, but rather asked for advice on the matter from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. The panel will then reconvene at a date yet to be determined (but presumably next week) to again consider the topic.

In the meantime, it’s possible that the issue of rejected absentee ballots will be taken up in the courts. The Franken campaign currently has a case pending in Ramsey County District Court related to the issue, and last week a voter whose absentee ballot was rejected filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County District Court.

Two of the canvassing board members — Gearin and fellow Ramsey County Judge Edward Cleary — were adamant that all properly cast absentee votes should be counted. “It’s important that we convey the message that we take their right to vote as serious as anyone else’s,” Cleary said.

Their views were contrasted slightly by the statements of Minnesota Supreme Court Justices G. Barry Anderson and Magnuson, both of whom were appointed by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The duo seemed more concerned with maintaining an orderly and speedy process than in making certain that all properly cast ballots are included in the recount. “At some point in time in the process you’ve got to stop counting,” Magnuson said.