Franken Campaign Demands That Recount Be Kept Open In Minneapolis Precinct After 133 Ballots Are Reported Lost
Posted in Press Releases on December 3rd, 2008
In Letter To Ritchie, Reichert, Franken Campaign Expresses Grave Concerns, Demands Immediate Action
SAINT PAUL [12/03/08] – After 133 ballots were lost by elections officials in the city of Minneapolis (Ward 3, Precinct 1), the Franken campaign today sent a letter to Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and Minneapolis Elections Director Cindy Reichert expressing grave concerns about the missing votes and demanding that Reichert complete an intensive search before the recount is declared closed or any numbers are officially reported from this precinct.
Communications Director Andy Barr:
“This is an incredible breach of the democratic process: 2,029 voters had their votes recorded on Election Day, and now local officials are able to produce only 1,896 ballots. That makes 133 residents of this one precinct in Minneapolis whose voices were just effectively silenced by this serious error, and it must be corrected before anyone can consider this recount complete or accurate.”
According to the Pioneer Press, Reichert originally said that the discrepancy was the result of 129 ballots with write-in candidates being run through a counting machine twice.
However, this explanation is completely impossible according to the numbers provided to the Franken campaign by Reichert herself:
1,047 voters signed in on the roster.
932 additional voters registered in person on Election Day.
35 absentee ballots were accepted in this precinct by the city.
15 absentee ballots were accepted in this precinct by the county.
TOTAL: 2,029 voters cast legal ballots (2,028 votes are recorded on the machine tape).
TODAY: 1,896 ballots were included in the recount.
That’s a difference of 133 that cannot be explained by ballots being run through twice on Election Day, because there were 133 more voters (not just votes) on Election Day than there were ballots available for the recount.
