Counties to Tally Uncounted Absentee Ballot in Minn.

Democrat Al Franken’s campaign was handed a major strategic victory in his ongoing bid to unseat Sen. Norm Coleman (R) in Minnesota’s Senate race when a state board ordered as many as 1,500 disqualified absentee ballots counted

Minnesota’s Board of Canvassers unanimously voted to ask county-level boards across Minnesota to count ballots Franken’s campaign alleges were improperly disqualified.

The decision, technically a recommendation without any force of law, would hand the Democrat a major strategic victory in the ongoing race against Coleman.

“We are pleased that the state canvassing board has affirmed what we always believed to be true: Minnesota is not a state that disenfranchises its voters,” said Franken campaign communications director Andy Barr. “Today’s decisions represent positive and productive steps towards ensuring that this election is decided fairly and accurately, as well as a complete rejection of the Coleman campaign’s effort to throw out lawful votes from Minnesotans.”

The Board said it expected the tallies, amended to include the disqualified absentee ballots, to appear before the Board sometime next week.

The decision came after Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson (D) recommended their inclusion. “They followed the rules,” she said of the voters whose ballots were disqualified, “they had their votes rejected through no fault of their own.