The five-member State Canvassing Board stayed on a commendable course Tuesday, acting unanimously and with dispatch to add eight more votes to the recount total. That ended their painstakingly thorough consideration of challenged ballots, clearing a major hurdle on the way to certifying final results in the amazingly close Norm Coleman-Al Franken U.S. Senate race.
Important as finishing that step was, Tuesday's meeting was perfunctory. The real recount action was in 12 locations around the state designated for review of rejected absentee ballots. Three-way agreement -- by local officials and representatives of both Franken and Coleman -- is required by the state Supreme Court for improperly rejected ballots to be added to the recount.
It was quickly apparent that achieving such accord won't be easy. The Coleman campaign's insistence on reviewing 650 more ballots than local officials say were rejected in error on Election Day was blocking action in at least two of the 12 ballot review sites, the Canvassing Board was told. In addition, Coleman campaign attorney Tony Trimble said, Coleman was prepared to agree to count only 778 of the 1,346 ballots local officials have said should be counted, though that number could change.
As she has done repeatedly during this process, Canvassing Board member Kathleen Gearin spoke up for the interests of Minnesota voters. Gearin, chief judge of Ramsey County District Court and the board's only woman, has been unabashed in advising the two campaigns to behave themselves and avoid frivolous delaying tactics. "Voters of Minnesota will be watching both parties to see what positions they take when local officials say these ballots should be counted," Gearin advised. So will the state's Supreme Court, reminded her Ramsey County bench colleague Edward Cleary. Their words deserve heed.
