From: Stephanie Schriock, Al Franken for Senate
Subject: Election Contest Trial Update
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 10:07:08 -0400
Subject: Election Contest Trial Update
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 10:07:08 -0400
Dear Friend,
Needless to say, it's been a long road for our campaign since election =
day. From the recount, to the canvassing board, to the election contest =
trial - being involved in this process has been an amazing experience and =
an absolute honor for me. We can be truly proud of our election system and =
the officials who make it work.
It has taken a lot of dedicated people and financial resources to see this =
process through, and we're not done yet. Our supporters have been =
incredibly generous with their time and contributions every step of the =
way. So today, on behalf of Al and the rest of our team, I want to extend =
my sincerest thanks to everyone who has helped out. We would not be where =
we are today without all of you.
At this point, you're probably wondering: where, exactly, are we today? =
The contest court issued a pivotal ruling last week ordering the review of =
around 400 rejected absentee ballots, the majority of which will probably =
be counted tomorrow.
Press accounts are really detailed, but don't always make a ton of sense =
to folks without a law degree. So to update you all on where things stand, =
I'm going to turn to the person who updates me, each and every day, on the =
status of this process - our lead attorney Marc Elias.
FROM: Marc
TO: Stephanie
CC: Email List
RE: Update for supporters
Stephanie,
The ruling from the Court shows that former Senator Coleman will have a =
hard time convincing anyone to overturn the results of this election.
Essentially, the Court agreed that the law should be followed as written. =
That's exactly what our argument has been all along. And although Coleman =
is likely to appeal in the hopes of finding a venue less picky about the =
rule of law, our analysis shows that the meticulousness of the Court's =
procedure and ruling would make such an appeal a difficult proposition.
After all, the original state canvassing board process was tri-partisan =
and fully transparent. The state canvassing board included four judges, =
including the Chief Justice and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. =
The panel appointed for the election contest was very careful and took =
this seriously. And this ruling reflects weeks of testimony from dozens =
upon dozens of witnesses, not to mention hundreds of exhibits and nearly =
20,000 pages of filings.
Now, we don't know what's in the envelopes the Court may order opened. =
But it is interesting to note that, at the end of this long process, our =
consistent argument regarding improperly rejected absentee ballots has =
been proven right.
We've always said that the vast majority of those ballots were rejected =
properly. We estimated that somewhere between 1,000 and 1,600 were =
rejected improperly. And it looks like the Court is going to end up =
agreeing with that range.
So, as we prepare for the final step in this process, we should feel good =
about where we stand.
-Marc
##
I hope that helps get everyone up to speed on where things stand. Thank =
you all, once again, for your support throughout this process. When Al =
Franken takes his seat as Minnesota's junior Senator and goes to work for =
Minnesota's middle-class families, we can all be proud of the work we've =
done to see this through.
Take Care,
Stephanie
Stephanie Schriock
Campaign Manager
Al Franken for Senate
***Paid for and authorized by Al Franken for Senate.
Needless to say, it's been a long road for our campaign since election =
day. From the recount, to the canvassing board, to the election contest =
trial - being involved in this process has been an amazing experience and =
an absolute honor for me. We can be truly proud of our election system and =
the officials who make it work.
It has taken a lot of dedicated people and financial resources to see this =
process through, and we're not done yet. Our supporters have been =
incredibly generous with their time and contributions every step of the =
way. So today, on behalf of Al and the rest of our team, I want to extend =
my sincerest thanks to everyone who has helped out. We would not be where =
we are today without all of you.
At this point, you're probably wondering: where, exactly, are we today? =
The contest court issued a pivotal ruling last week ordering the review of =
around 400 rejected absentee ballots, the majority of which will probably =
be counted tomorrow.
Press accounts are really detailed, but don't always make a ton of sense =
to folks without a law degree. So to update you all on where things stand, =
I'm going to turn to the person who updates me, each and every day, on the =
status of this process - our lead attorney Marc Elias.
FROM: Marc
TO: Stephanie
CC: Email List
RE: Update for supporters
Stephanie,
The ruling from the Court shows that former Senator Coleman will have a =
hard time convincing anyone to overturn the results of this election.
Essentially, the Court agreed that the law should be followed as written. =
That's exactly what our argument has been all along. And although Coleman =
is likely to appeal in the hopes of finding a venue less picky about the =
rule of law, our analysis shows that the meticulousness of the Court's =
procedure and ruling would make such an appeal a difficult proposition.
After all, the original state canvassing board process was tri-partisan =
and fully transparent. The state canvassing board included four judges, =
including the Chief Justice and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. =
The panel appointed for the election contest was very careful and took =
this seriously. And this ruling reflects weeks of testimony from dozens =
upon dozens of witnesses, not to mention hundreds of exhibits and nearly =
20,000 pages of filings.
Now, we don't know what's in the envelopes the Court may order opened. =
But it is interesting to note that, at the end of this long process, our =
consistent argument regarding improperly rejected absentee ballots has =
been proven right.
We've always said that the vast majority of those ballots were rejected =
properly. We estimated that somewhere between 1,000 and 1,600 were =
rejected improperly. And it looks like the Court is going to end up =
agreeing with that range.
So, as we prepare for the final step in this process, we should feel good =
about where we stand.
-Marc
##
I hope that helps get everyone up to speed on where things stand. Thank =
you all, once again, for your support throughout this process. When Al =
Franken takes his seat as Minnesota's junior Senator and goes to work for =
Minnesota's middle-class families, we can all be proud of the work we've =
done to see this through.
Take Care,
Stephanie
Stephanie Schriock
Campaign Manager
Al Franken for Senate
***Paid for and authorized by Al Franken for Senate.
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