(Ben Garvin, AP)
The Coleman campaign contradicts its earlier positions when they did not want all uncounted rejected absentee ballots (they were winning then). They now claim that they want every legitimate ballot counted. Except where it doesn't benefit Norm. Like in DFL-friendly territory ... then they want it suppressed.
For example, they want to prevent the votes of 133 Minneapolis residents from being counted when the envelope they were in couldn't be found during the recount process. They allege that some ballots were counted twice, but only want this investigated in DFL-friendly territory.
They assert that county election officials were wrong 80% of the time on the rejected absentee ballots. They were wrong on 11,000 ballots! Despite the fact that these judgments have been reviewed 4 to 5 times.
The Franken legal team claimed, as we've heard many times before, that Norm's lawyers are on a fishing trip to try and find more votes.
After the campaigns gave opening statements the Coleman legal team called 2 witnesses. The first was a campaign staffer, Kristin Fuzer, who asserted that they were contesting a large number of rejected absentee ballots. Apparently, Fuzer was in charge of getting all the copies made. It appears that she may have been in charge of doctoring the evidence the Coleman legal team submitted.
On cross-examination, Marc Elias got her to agree that there was a discrepancy although she had no explanation. Somehow on every single ballot, the crucial part about why the ballots had been correctly rejected were not included on the copy she or people under her made. She asserted her cluelessness about how this could have happened. She also frequently and apologetically glanced over at Norm according to those present. She was poorly prepped and did not help Norm's cause at all.
The judges ruled that Norm's lawyers need to submitted admissible and undoctored evidence.
As Elias states in the press conference after today's events ...
There's a doctrine of best evidence that requires that if something is going to be considered in court that it actually be the original or a true copy. But where there are errors, inadvertent or otherwise, it simply isn't used.
Here's Eric Kleefeld's take on today's happenings:
Earlier today, Franken attorney Marc Elias raised serious questions about the Coleman campaign erasing sections from photocopies of rejected absentee-ballot envelopes that they're attempting to get put into the count. Later questioning by Elias of Coleman attorney Gloria Sonnen revealed that the submitted copies also include written notes added on to the envelopes by the Coleman team, and it's impossible to tell what writing was there originally and what was added by the Coleman camp.
The judges have now ordered Coleman's legal team to subpoena and submit the original ballot envelopes themselves, if they want them to be reviewed and potentially counted.
(TPM Election Central) |
