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AM.MN: Lawn signs? Check. Tow signs? Oops.

By Chris Steller | 11.02.09 | 9:30 am

am.mn logoGetting named in a developer’s lawsuit on Thursday, five days before Election Day, was bad enough. But Friday wasn’t much better for Minneapolis Council Member Diane Hofstede, whose office got more than 50 calls after the city’s…

Franken to high court: Let’s hurry it up

By Chris Steller | 04.21.09 | 2:17 pm

frankenLawyers for Al Franken are trying to turn Norm Coleman’s recent media blitz into a justice blitz, using comments from the Republican campaign in news reports to persuade the the Minnesota Supreme Court to speed up Coleman’s appeal.

Coleman can’t win for losing: Peek at crib sheets gets witness’ testimony stricken

By Chris Steller | 02.25.09 | 7:22 pm

Testimony from a witness for Norm Coleman was stricken from the court record today when the three judges in Minnesota’s election contest trial agreed with Al Franken’s side that Coleman lawyers should not have shared notes with her during a…

Another day, another Minnesotan: Both Klobuchar and Pawlenty visit Maddow

By Chris Steller | 02.18.09 | 11:50 am

pawlenty-maddow-klobuchar-princeAnd on the fourth day they rested? Minnesota’s top two elected officials spent the last three days talking economic stimulus on the airwaves and cable lines of two supposed bastions of liberal media, MSNBC and National Public Radio. Sen.…

Sweethearts’ murmurs give way to spat over who made senate trial so boring

By Chris Steller | 02.09.09 | 12:24 pm

At first Valentine’s Day seemed to have come early as Week 3 began in Minnesota’s election contest trial between Al Franken and Norm Coleman. The former senator’s lawyers started the day by calling two husband-and-wife pairs of absentee voters to the witness stand whose ballots had been rejected for improper witnessing. Then Franken attorney David Lillehaug rose to make a major objection: Coleman’s side has not answered the Franken side’s questions about the evidence they’re going to present, as the court has ordered them to do.

Franken campaign calls on Gov. Pawlenty to issue election certificate

By Paul Demko | 01.12.09 | 12:21 pm

Al Franken’s campaign has written to Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie asking that he be issued a certificate declaring him the winner of the U.S. Senate contest. Last week the state Canvassing Board certified results showing that Franken won the election by 225 votes, but former Sen. Norm Coleman has contested the results in state court.

Liveblog: Minnesota State Canvassing Board

By Chris Steller | 11.26.08 | 9:00 am

The Minnesota Independent liveblogged and tweeted (at MnIndyLIVE) the Nov. 26 State Canvassing Board meeting, at which Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie led the five-person board in considering the Al Franken for Senate campaign’s request that they find a way to count votes from all improperly rejected absentee ballots.

Can’t tell who you’re insulting at the AG’s office without a program

By Chris Steller | 11.19.08 | 1:08 pm


Al Franken’s lawyers take a lashing from Politics in Minnesota (PIM) — mostly on style points — for their impolitic memorandum in response to an opinion from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office that the State…

U.S. Senate recount: It’s a legal matter, baby

By Paul Demko | 11.19.08 | 11:42 am

The fight over the closest Senate contest in Minnesota history turned to the Ramsey County Courthouse this morning. In a hearing before Judge Dale Lindman, Al Franken’s campaign argued that Ramsey County election officials should be required to turn over information about rejected absentee ballots. Attorney David Lillehaug made the case that the names of all voters who had their ballots invalidated, along with the reason for that decision, should be provided. “That information is critical to the plaintiff,” he stated

MNrecount Liveblog: State Canvassing Board certifies election results

By Chris Steller | 11.18.08 | 1:04 pm

The Minnesota Independent liveblogged as the state’s Canvassing Board met today to approve a plan for a recount in the U.S. Senate election. After the meeting, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie held a press conference and we liveblogged that too. Find out why someone said the word “Embarass,” what Mark Ritchie had for breakfast, and whether the recount will really take until August.