Minnesota Independent

Supreme Court denies Emmer, GOP petition

By Andy Birkey | 11.23.10 | 7:30 am

Ninety minutes after hearing oral arguments, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected a petition by the Republican Party of Minnesota and Tom Emmer for Governor to force counties to undergo a reconciliation in search of “phantom votes.” The Emmer team argued that election officials improperly counted votes on election night, but the opposition argued that officials have followed the letter of the law.

Counties, Dayton and Ritchie file documents refuting Emmer’s claims

By Andy Birkey | 11.21.10 | 1:20 pm

Ramsey, Anoka and Hennepin counties as well as Mark Dayton’s legal team and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie have filed paperwork arguing against the Republican Party of Minnesota’s Supreme Court challenge alleging phantom votes and asking for a reconciliation of voter sign-ins with ballots in all 4,130 precincts in the state. All parties argue that precincts followed procedures that have been in place since 1982.

Emmer wants recount rules changed

By Andy Birkey | 11.19.10 | 2:00 pm

The Republican Party of Minnesota and Tom Emmer for Governor want changes made to the recount rules ahead of the State Canvassing Board meeting on Tuesday. Specifically, Emmer wants Rule 8 changed to make inspection of challenged ballots the job of the five-member canvassing board and not the 87 county auditors.

Witnesses for Emmer complaint are for most part Republican activists

By Andy Birkey | 11.18.10 | 2:47 pm

In a petition filed by the Republican Party of Minnesota and Tom Emmer’s gubernatorial campaign with the Minnesota Supreme Court, election judges from around the state submitted affidavits stating that reconciliation between registered voters and ballots was not done correctly in their precincts. The GOP said improper record keeping on election night resulted in thousands of “phantom votes” while the Dayton campaign called the complaint a delay tactic. The vast majority of the witnesses in the complaint are Republican activists or are connected to the tea party movement.

Emmer files petition with Supreme Court, Dayton camp calls it delay tactic

By Andy Birkey | 11.18.10 | 10:00 am

The Republican Party of Minnesota and Tom Emmer’s gubernatorial campaign filed a petition Wednesday with the Minnesota Supreme Court alleging that more people voted in the 2010 election than registered. The GOP claims it has information from election judges who “did not witness” other election judges counting precinct sign in sheets and that “tens of thousands”of “phantom votes” exist. The recount team of Mark Dayton said that votes have been reconciled twice in post-election reporting, and that the GOP is engaged in an eleventh-hour “hail mary” to postpone the recount process.

Gubernatorial recount to start Nov. 29

By Andy Birkey | 11.16.10 | 11:30 am

With a recount looking more and more likely, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has laid out a plan for the canvasing operations. The recount of the governor’s race is set for Nov. 29, which will follow the Canvassing Board’s decision on whether a recount will happen. That board is scheduled to meet on Nov. 23. Leading up to those meetings, counties are prepping for the recount and dealing with an enormous number of data practices request from the campaigns. DFLer Mark Dayton leads Republican Tom Emmer by more than 8,700 votes.

Leading up to recount, GOP files suit against two counties

By Andy Birkey | 11.15.10 | 9:30 am

The Republican Party of Minnesota and Tom Emmer for Governor filed a civil suit against Pine and St. Louis counties on Friday afternoon saying the two have been too slow in getting requested documents related to the election.

National recount stats suggest long odds for Emmer beating Dayton

By Andy Birkey | 11.11.10 | 8:44 am

Since the possibility of a recount emerged a week ago, Republican Tom Emmer and the GOP have been questioning election irregularities and casting doubt over Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s ability to administer the recount. But Tuesday afternoon the recount team for Mark Dayton pushed back, suggesting Emmer has an insurmountable task in making up the more than 8,500 votes he needs to overtake Dayton. Research released by the Dayton campaign shows how recounts across the country have fared over the last decade.

Emmer talks recount plans, notes ‘questions’ about ballots

By Andy Birkey | 11.09.10 | 3:23 pm

In his first media appearance since election night, Republican candidate for governor Tom Emmer met with reporters at the Minnesota state capitol Tuesday to address the recount. He declined to weigh in on the state GOP’s allegations of incompetence and fraud, but he did frequently allude to reported irregularities in Hennepin County on election night.

GOP taking ‘aggressive approach’ to Dayton-Emmer recount

By Andy Birkey | 11.09.10 | 12:57 pm

The Republican Party of Minnesota is promising an “aggressive approach” to the recount between Republican Tom Emmer and DFLer Mark Dayton in the race for governor. On Tuesday, the GOP announced it has hired former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson for the recount process. Magnuson sat on the State Canvassing Board during the Franken-Coleman recount. The local party is also collecting information from GOP activists on “irregularities,” while at least one national Republican has started a misinformation campaign directed at Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.