Senate recount trial recap

February 5, 2009 at 3:10AM

U.S. SENATE RECOUNT TRIAL

Wednesday was Day 8 of the trial before a three-judge panel in St. Paul, in which Republican Norm Coleman is challenging the recount results showing DFLer Al Franken with a 225-vote lead.

THE DAY'S EVENTS

• Wednesday's action followed the panel's ruling Tuesday that Coleman may present evidence on some 4,800 absentee ballots that he says may have been improperly rejected. Getting more ballots counted is a key part of Coleman's strategy.

Washington County Elections Director Kevin Corbid was the day's main witness. The Coleman campaign sought to show that some absentee ballots in the county were rejected for apparently erroneous reasons. The Franken side highlighted rules that voters must follow and touched on the issue of double-counting of ballots, trying to show a lack of concrete evidence that it occurred.

UP NEXT

• The trial will resume at 10:30 a.m. At 9 a.m., the state Supreme Court will hear Franken's bid to be granted an election certificate allowing him to be seated provisionally, pending the trial's outcome.

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