Status: Friday was Day 5 of Republican Norm Coleman's lawsuit challenging the U.S. Senate recount results. He claims that various irregularities left DFLer Al Franken with an artificial 225-vote lead. A key part of Coleman's strategy is to have the three presiding judges consider thousands of absentee ballots that his campaign contends were wrongly rejected.

THE DAY'S EVENTS

• Ramsey County Elections Chief Joe Mansky testified, under questioning by Coleman lawyers, that substantial numbers of valid absentee ballots were mistakenly rejected by local elections officials and remain uncounted.

• A group of 61 voters sought to have their ballots automatically counted, while another group of seven voters asked permission to intervene in the case to advocate for their own interests.

UP NEXT

• The trial resumes at 9 a.m. Monday.