IT BEGINS!

Well folks, the recount is officially underway at 100 sites across the state. And while there may be great uncertainty about the result of this process, there is certainly no shortage of writings on it! So, here’s a quick round-up:

• Strib: “The contentious fight for a U.S. Senate seat between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken moved into the recount phase this morning as election workers across Minnesota started retabulating more than 2.9 million ballots — one by one.”The recount is being carried out in more than 100 sites across Minnesota. It is required under state law because the votes cast for Coleman and Franken differed by less than 0.5 percent. Coleman’s 215-vote lead heading into the recount translates to 0.008 percent.”
• PiPress Ritchie Profile: “When he talks about his job, Ritchie calls himself a steward of the processes put in place before him. “It’s hard to escape the historical legacy of the post: The hallway leading to Ritchie’s office is lined with leather-bound tomes of state legislation on one side and 21 framed images on the other — one for each secretary of state since 1858.”“The real infrastructure in all of this is state law,” he said. “We have 100 years’ experience of voting on ballots, 35 years of specific experience with voter registration and same-day registration.”“
• PiPress: Recount will be a highly regulated affair: Every detail is carefully spelled out and waiting for the ballot counters to get to work
• HuffPo: “Franken is pressing to include absentee ballots his campaign says were rejected on technicalities. Campaign lawyer David Lillehaug argued the board has the power to add them to the count.”“They have a right to have official mistakes corrected and their votes counted. Not later, but now,” he said of voters in that situation. “This board has the full authority, and indeed we submit, the obligation to do exactly that.”“
• MPR: Voters Worried About Absentee Ballots Being Counted: “The battle over rejected absentee ballots is sparking questions in the minds of some Minnesota Public Radio listeners who voted absentee.  Eden Prairie voter Sally Burns is worried; she never gave it a second thought when she cast her absentee ballot in the past. “I have always assumed that that ballot goes to my precinct and is counted with regular votes,” Burns said. “But with all the discussion it occurs to me that I don’t know that for a fact.” Minneapolis voter Lindsey Jackson has the same question. “I’m just curious if my absentee ballot was counted,” Jackson said”
• MinnPost, “Recount Working so Far”: “The Coleman-Franken recount process today looked like most administrative processes: dry, dull, ruled by Roberts and uncannily anticlimactic. If you want a sleep aid, click here, and watch today’s meeting of the State Canvassing Board.”Of course, we’re still at least a month — and maybe longer — away from the real climax. So, you’ll need your rest.”
• MN Indy: “In a brief submitted to the canvassing board today, the Franken campaign highlighted four instances where it believes absentee ballots were improperly rejected. For example, James Langland, a doctor in Pennington County, attempted to vote absentee by visiting the local election office to fill out his ballot. The ballot, however, was subsequently rejected because it lacked a proper witness signature. “Dr. Langland did everything correctly,” said Mark Elias, the lead recount attorney for the Franken campaign at a press conference today. “He actually went to the recorder’s office and asked them to witness the signature. And due surely to human error and nothing more, it resulted in it being rejected.””