Minnesota Shutdown

Lawmakers Still Hammering Out Details To End Minnesota's Government Shutdown

David Taintor | July 18, 2011, 9:36AM

Minnesota State Capitol

What seemed like a quick end to Minnesota's government shutdown is proving to take a bit longer.

Lawmakers worked over the weekend on language that reflects the budget deal Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican lawmakers agreed upon last week. The deal is a compromise on a GOP budget offer made on June 30, just before the state's shutdown. It involves delaying more money to K-12 and borrowing money from future tobacco payments. Critics describe it as a quick fix, not a long-term budget solution.

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Minnesota

Lawmakers Reach Deal To End Minnesota's Government Shutdown

David Taintor | July 14, 2011, 7:45PM

Minnesota state Capitol building

After two weeks of government shutdown, Minnesota is on its way to being open for business. Lawmakers on Thursday evening announced they had reached an budget agreement to end the shutdown.

Earlier Thursday, Dayton agreed to compromise on the GOP's budget offer from June 30, just before the state's government shutdown. But he did so under certain conditions: that the GOP remove its policy issues from the budget, drop a 15 percent reduction to the number of state employees in all agencies and support a $500 million bonding bill.

Now that they have a deal, Dayton said the shutdown will end "very soon," according to local reports.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch said the final details are still being worked out, but they have reached a "framework agreement," Minnesota Public radio reported:

Koch said the agreement includes delaying more payments to schools, and borrowing against the state's future tobacco payments. The agreement would raise $1.4 billion in new revenue.

Dayton met with Republican lawmakers for three hours Thursday. Appearing after the meeting with Koch and Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers, Dayton expressed the tough reality of the agreement. "No one's going to be happy with this, which is the essence of compromise," he said. That means, for the time being, the governor will shelve his plan to raise taxes on Minnesota's millionaires.

Read more at MPR.

Minnesota

Dayton Offers Compromise On GOP Budget Offer

David Taintor | July 14, 2011, 2:10PM

Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN)

Could the gridlock which has shut down Minnesota's government for two weeks finally be over?

Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton on Thursday offered to compromise on a Republican budget offer, the Star Tribune and others report, which the GOP submitted June 30 just before the shutdown. While Dayton doesn't like many proposals included in the offer, he said in a letter to Republican legislative leaders, "this is the only viable option that's potentially available."

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Minnesota Shutdown

No Budget Talks Scheduled In Minnesota; Dayton Offers More Proposals To End The Shutdown

David Taintor | July 12, 2011, 5:45AM

Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN)

No budget talks are scheduled in Minnesota, where the state's government shutdown has entered its second week.

But in a letter to Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Republican Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton said he is willing to meet the legislative leaders to work out a deal.

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Mark Dayton

Furloughed In Minnesota - The Story Of One State Worker

David Taintor | July 11, 2011, 5:50AM

Minnesota state Capitol building

For more than 20 years, Jim Lundy could count on the stability of a government job. But that changed July 1 when Minnesota's government shutdown after lawmaker's couldn't agree on how to close the state's $5 billion projected budget deficit.

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Minnesota

Budget Panel Offers Framework To End Minnesota's Gov't Shutdown

David Taintor | July 8, 2011, 4:14PM

Minnesota State Capitol

There are few signs that Minnesota's state government shutdown -- now dragging on into its second week -- will let up anytime soon.

So a nonpartisan panel has offered an alternative, hoping cooler heads will prevail.
The panel -- composed of former Vice President Walter Mondale, former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson and other business leaders and academics -- believes that "everyone in Minnesota needs to contribute to the budget solution," according to a budget blueprint released Friday.

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Minnesota

How Much Is Minnesota's Government Shutdown Costing The State?

David Taintor | July 7, 2011, 5:50AM

Minnesota state Capitol building

With state parks and rest stops shuttered, and the state lottery frozen, Minnesota's government shutdown is losing the state money.

But how much, exactly? Thursday marks the seventh day of Minnesota's deadlock over a projected $5 billion deficit. Because some of the people who would calculate those costs are currently laid off by the shutdown, Minnesota Management and Budget spokesman John Pollard told TPM it's difficult to come up with an exact number.

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Minnesota

No Sign Of Budget Deal As MN Lawmakers Dig In Their Heels

David Taintor | July 6, 2011, 6:00AM

Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN)

Minnesota lawmakers took the holiday weekend to cool off from the heated budget negotiations that led to the state's government shutdown last week.

But the time apart hasn't eased the deadlock. Lawmakers are grappling over how to close a $5 billion projected budget deficit. Republicans -- who control the state's legislature -- want to balance the budget with spending cuts, while Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton is looking to combine spending cuts with a tax increase on Minnesota's millionaires.

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Minnesota

Lights Out: Minnesota Government Shuts Down Without Budget Agreement

David Taintor | July 1, 2011, 5:30AM

Minnesota State Capitol Building

Minnesota lawmakers just couldn't get it done.

After many consecutive days of intense budget negotiations, the state's government has begun shutting down ahead of the Fourth of July weekend. That means state parks and rest stops are closed -- as well as other government services the court doesn't deem "core" functions of government. More than 22,000 state employees will be forced out of work.

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Minnesota

Hours Before State Government Shutdown, No Budget Deal In Minnesota

David Taintor | June 30, 2011, 6:04PM

Minnesota State Capitol

Minnesota lawmakers have just hours to avert a state government shutdown. And while talks continued on Thursday a deal did not yet appear close.

Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton again held meetings with Republican leaders Thursday, the Star Tribune reports. A couple of jibes against Democrats were launched via Twitter, but lawmakers have mostly maintained their "cone of silence" while negotiations are underway.

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Minnesota

Is It Still Possible To Avert A State Government Shutdown In Minnesota?

David Taintor | June 29, 2011, 6:00AM

Minnesota state Capitol building

Another day and more gridlock in Minnesota.

Budget negotiations continued Tuesday to try to avert a state government shutdown, but no deal has stuck yet.

Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton again met with Republican leaders of the legislature, calling the talks "constructive." But he said they still have their differences. Beyond that, details of the negations have been been intentionally vague, as lawmakers have committed not to speak publicly about the specifics of the meetings.

With a June 30 deadline to avert a shutdown, how realistic are the chances of a deal?

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Minnesota

Lawmakers Tight-Lipped As Minnesota Government Shutdown Looms

David Taintor | June 28, 2011, 6:00AM

Minnesota State Capitol

Budget negotiations are going down to the wire in Minnesota -- where the state is heading for a government shutdown if a budget deal isn't passed by the end of the week. And lawmakers are keeping tight-lipped about the progress of their negotiations.

Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton met with Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Republican Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch Monday evening to continue hammering out a deal. But details of the meetings have, for the most part, been kept under wraps. The meeting Monday follows negotiations over the weekend that broke off abruptly Sunday.

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Minnesota

MN Gov. Outlines State Gov't Shutdown Plans, Asks Court To Appoint Mediator

David Taintor | June 16, 2011, 5:45AM

Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN)

In preparation for a looming state government shutdown in Minnesota, Gov. Mark Dayton (D) on Wednesday outlined his worst-case scenario plans.

In a petition filed in the Ramsey County District Court, Dayton called for the court to appoint a mediator to avoid shutdown. Dayton's petition was in response to an one filed earlier by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson.

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Minnesota

Minnesota Prepares For Possible Government Shutdown

David Taintor | June 15, 2011, 5:45AM

Minnesota State Capitol

Things are heating up in Minnesota this summer where the state government is facing a $5 billion deficit. If a budget deal isn't reached by the end of the month, it's lights out.

Gov. Mark Dayton (D) is looking to increase taxes on the top 2 percent of wealthy Minnesotans and cut spending, while Republicans propose balancing the budget entirely with spending cuts.

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Minnesota

Minn. State Rep. Writes Constituent, Calls Unions 'Communist' And Invokes Hitler And Castro

Eric Kleefeld | June 14, 2011, 12:24PM

State Rep. Tom Hackbarth (R-MN)

A public employee union in Minnesota is publicizing an e-mail that Republican state representative Tom Hackbarth sent as a reply to a union member who sent him a constituent letter, in which he called unions communists and compared them to Hitler and Castro.

As MinnPost reports, one of the state's public employee unions, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), has coordinated a letter-writing campaign in support of Gov. Mark Dayton's (D) budget proposals including a tax increase on the top 2% of incomes in the state, compared to the Republican-led legislature's proposals to balance the budget entirely through spending cuts.

Union member Robin Seifert's constituent letter to Hackbarth was one such message. "We have a choice. We can either protect the richest Minnesotans and large corporations or we can protect the vital services that average Minnesotans depend on," Seifert wrote in part. "Are you willing to take away health care from 140,000 Minnesotans just to protect the 40,000 richest people in Minnesota?"

She then received an interesting reply from Hackbarth, which the union has released. As readers will see, Hackbarth went quite a bit above and beyond the standard reply that a politician might send to a constituent, which would usually involve a cordial response explaining the legislator's own position.

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Mark Dayton

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton Invites Protesters To Speak At Health Care Signing (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | January 6, 2011, 1:48PM

Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN)

Newly sworn-in Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN) did something amazing Wednesday, at a public event where he signed an executive order to opt the state in to expanded federal health care funding. In addition to the typical accompaniment by supporters, he allowed Tea Partiers and other activists opposed to it to come right into the formal room of the Capitol -- and to speak at the podium, too.

In addition to Dayton's remarks, four five other people got an opportunity to speak -- two in favor of the policy, and three against it -- with Dayton maintaining order and civility among the crowd.

As MinnPost reports:

Nobody had seen anything like this at the Capitol before.

Yes, there have always been protests -- sometimes loud, but not in this formal room. In this room, governors traditionally have held news conferences in front of the media and with only invited guests. Security people traditionally had kept all others out.

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2012 elections

PPP Poll: Pawlenty Trails Obama In Minnesota -- And Romney Does Better

Eric Kleefeld | December 8, 2010, 3:57PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) and President Barack Obama

The new survey of Minnesota from Public Policy Polling (D) finds President Obama leading various potential Republican challengers for 2012 -- including the state's departing governor, Tim Pawlenty. And not only that, but this poll has an extra-bad data point for Pawlenty. Mitt Romney actually does better in Minnesota than Minnesota's governor.

Obama carried Minnesota by a 54%-44% margin against John McCain in 2008. The state has not voted Republican at the presidential level since the Nixon landslide of 1972. It was the only state to vote for its Democratic native son Walter Mondale in the Reagan landslide of 1984, but in fact he won it only narrowly.

In this poll, Obama leads Newt Gingrich by 51%-38%, leads Mike Huckabee by 50%-40%, and trounces Sarah Palin by 54%-36%. As it turns out, he leads Pawlenty by 51%-43%, but only leads Romney by 47%-42%.

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MN-GOV

Republican Tom Emmer (Finally) Concedes MN-GOV Race

Eric Kleefeld | December 8, 2010, 12:14PM

Gov.-elect Mark Dayton (D-MN) and Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer

The Minnesota gubernatorial recount has now come to an end, with Republican state Rep. Tom Emmer conceding defeat to Democratic former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton -- bringing this story to a much quicker end than the long and drawn out Senate race from 2008, which lasted for eight months of recounts and litigation with a much, much closer margin.

Emmer appeared with his family on his front porch, and addressed reporters. "Well, Minnesotans made their choice, by however thin a margin, and we respect that choice," said Emmer. "Now is the time for all of us to come together and do what is best for Minnesota."

Going into the recount, Dayton led by 8,770 votes, or 0.42%. While this was within the 0.5% needed to trigger a statewide recount, many observers doubted from the start that Emmer could have pulled ahead -- including Fritz Knaak, a former lawyer for Norm Coleman. By comparison, the 2008 Senate recount and litigation resulted in a net change in the margins of only a few hundred votes. However, a possible drawn-out legal contest could have resulted in Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty staying in office in the interim, with the opportunity to work with a newly elected Republican legislature.

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MN-GOV

Tom Emmer Expected To Concede MN-GOV Race Today

Eric Kleefeld | December 8, 2010, 9:23AM

MN Gov candidate Tom Emmer (R)

The Minnesota gubernatorial race is expected to come to an end today, five weeks plus one day after Election Day, with Republican state Rep. Tom Emmer reportedly to concede defeat to Democratic former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton.

The news was first reported by KSTP, the local ABC affiliate in the Twin Cities area, and has also been confirmed by the Star Tribune. Emmer has an announcement scheduled for 10:30 a.m. CT. This election follows the disputed Minnesota Senate race from the 2008 cycle, which lasted for eight months of counting and litigation -- but this current race always seemed likely to take much less time, because even its close margin of about 9,000 votes was far wider than the Senate race that came down to just a couple hundred votes.

Going into the recount, Dayton led by 8,770 votes, or 0.42%. While this was within the 0.5% needed to trigger a statewide recount, many observers doubted from the start that Emmer could have pulled ahead -- including Fritz Knaak, a former lawyer for Norm Coleman. By comparison, the 2008 Senate recount and litigation resulted in a net change in the margins of only a few hundred votes. However, a possible drawn-out legal contest could have resulted in Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty staying in office in the interim, with the opportunity to work with a newly elected Republican legislature.

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MN-GOV

Tom Emmer Loses Court Fight On Key Argument In MN-GOV Recount

Eric Kleefeld | December 7, 2010, 5:46PM

MN-GOV candidate Tom Emmer (R)

The Minnesota Supreme Court just handed down its full opinion on a key issue that Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer had been trying to fight on during the current recount -- and which he might have continued to fight in a post-recount lawsuit. And as the opinion shows, they appear to have done nothing less than shoot him down entirely.

Emmer has tried to make an issue of cases where precincts have more votes than the total number of people who signed in on the register. But, Emmer didn't just lose the argument in the courts -- he lost it big, and is running out of legal avenues by which his campaign could even try to contest the election once the recount is over.

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MN-GOV

Emmer Drops Almost All Ballot Challenges In MN-GOV Recount

Eric Kleefeld | December 7, 2010, 4:52PM

Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer (R)

Republican nominee Tom Emmer has now withdrawn almost all of his campaign's challenges of ballots in Minnesota's gubernatorial recount.

As the Star Tribune reports, Emmer had about 650 challenges remaining, going into today. By today's deadline of noon Central Time, his campaign had cut that down to a mere 131 challenges. The board will meet tomorrow to adjudicate the remaining challenges from Emmer, as well the challenges from Democratic nominee Mark Dayton.

This follows his campaign's actions over last weekend, when they withdrew over 2,500 challenges in heavily Democratic Hennepin County (Minneapolis), which the local officials at the counting tables had deemed to be frivolous.

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MN-GOV

PPP Poll: Minnesotans Say Dayton Won Gov Race, Emmer Should Concede

Eric Kleefeld | December 7, 2010, 10:52AM

MN-GOV candidates Tom Emmer (R) and Mark Dayton (D)

A new Public Policy Polling (D) survey of Minnesota finds that Minnesotans far and wide say that Democrat Mark Dayton was the winner of the gubernatorial race -- he leads by about 9,000 votes -- and that Republican nominee Tom Emmer should concede.

Still, it looks like Republicans could be gearing up to legally contest the gubernatorial race at the conclusion of the recount process.

The poll asked: "Do you think the rightful winner of the Governor's race was Mark Dayton or Tom Emmer?" The answer was Dayton 68%, Emmer 21%. Democrats say it was Dayton by 95%-3%, independents say Dayton by 72%-13%, and Republicans only say Emmer by a plurality of 46%-37%

The next question: "Do you think Tom Emmer should concede the Governor's race or not?" The answer here was 68% yes, 22% no -- nearly identical to the previous number on who the rightful winner is, with internal numbers that closely match it given the margins of error.

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MN-GOV

Tom Emmer: 'We're Not Going Away Regardless Of What Happens' In MN-GOV Recount

Eric Kleefeld | December 6, 2010, 9:50AM

MN-GOV candidate Tom Emmer (R)

Some key developments took place over the weekend in the Minnesota gubernatorial recount, with Republican nominee Tom Emmer's withdrawing almost all of its ballot-challenges that were deemed to be frivolous by the local officials at the counting table. But on the other hand, even though he is mathematically guaranteed to lose the recount, he also says he's not going away.

As the Star Tribune reports, the Emmer campaign had challenged 2,604 ballots in heavily Democratic Hennepin County (Minneapolis), with almost all the challenges being declared frivolous. At Friday's State Canvassing Board Meeting, Emmer lead attorney Eric Magnuson (a former state Chief Justice who previously sat on the board in the 2008 Senate recount between Al Franken and Norm Coleman) promised to bring the number down.

Then on Saturday, out of 2,604 challenges, the Emmer campaign reviewed the ballots and brought the number down to...24. Magnuson said that the large number of withdrawals "doesn't mean I agreed they were frivolous ... but I was not going to take them before the Canvassing Board."

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MN-GOV

Minnesota State Canvassing Board Debates The Importance Of Being Frivolous

Eric Kleefeld | December 3, 2010, 6:24PM

MN-GOV candidates Tom Emmer (R) and Mark Dayton (D)

The Minnesota State Canvassing Board just had a contentious two-hour meeting, in their effort to oversee the state gubernatorial recount, in which they tangled with Republican nominee Tom Emmer's lead litigator Eric Magnuson -- a former state Chief Justice who served on the board itself during the 2008 Senate recount. And in a display that would make Oscar Wilde proud, the board spent its meeting at lengthy discourse on the subject of frivolity.

At issue were the very large number of challenges that Emmer campaign observers have made against the local officials' decisions on how to count ballots -- of which the vast majority, over 2,500 of them, have been deemed frivolous by the local officials and counted anyway, under the board's rules.

After much back and forth, the board came to realize that they had to dot every "i" and cross every "t," and laid out a new procedure for the next week -- copies of all challenges deemed frivolous will be provided to the Emmer campaign, with Magnuson promising to seriously cut down the list by the middle of next week, and the board to see the list on Friday. But, Magnuson said, there would still be ballots that they think should get a look.

(As Justice David Stras made clear, the board is not promising to actually look at all such ballots -- just that Team Emmer must have access to them and the chance to review the list.)

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MN-GOV

Emmer Digs In: MN-GOV Recount 'Merely A Step In The Process'

Eric Kleefeld | December 3, 2010, 12:37PM

MN Gov candidate Tom Emmer (R)

Minnesota Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer, who entered the state recount trailing Democrat Mark Dayton by 8,770 votes, just held a press conference and admitted that the recount itself would not change the result. Instead, he made a lot of hay over a different issue, attacking the possibility of precincts that have more ballots cast than people who properly signed the registers.

The takeaway here is that the Emmer campaign could potentially file an election contest -- a lawsuit disputing the election result -- on the basis of alleged voter fraud. A possible drawn-out legal contest could result in Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty staying in office in the interim, with the opportunity to work with a newly elected Republican legislature.

"This egregious disregard for election laws calls into question the integrity of one vote per person," Emmer said, "and is, I believe, an assault on the very principles of the American voting system, diluting every legally cast vote. Again, that's when you have more ballots, than supposedly you have people that voted in the election."

He also added: "Remember the recount is merely a step in the process that ensures that there are no other irregularities that must be accounted for."

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MN-GOV

Dayton Withdraws His 42 Frivolous Ballot Challenges -- Attacks Emmer's 2,500

Eric Kleefeld | December 2, 2010, 6:49PM

MN-GOV candidates Tom Emmer (R) and Mark Dayton (D)

In another fun development in the Minnesota gubernatorial recount, the campaign of Democratic nominee Mark Dayton has written a letter to the State Canvassing Board withdrawing all of its ballot-challenges that have been declared frivolous by local officials -- and savaging the campaign of Republican nominee Tom Emmer for issuing a lot more of such challenges than they have.

Essentially, Team Dayton appears to be letting Team Emmer make themselves look bad, and could be trying to ingratiate their own side with the board ahead of a meeting on Friday, which was scheduled ahead of time just to examine this very issue.

"The 2010 Gubernatorial Recount to date has been disrupted by a striking pattern of frivolous challenges to ballots validly cast by lawful Minnesotan voters, with clear expression of voter intent and devoid of any identifying marks," writes Dayton co-lead counsel Marc Elias (who previously served as Dem Sen. Al Franken's lead attorney in the 2008 Senate recount). "I urge this Board to put an end to this unfortunate effort to disenfranchise Minnesota voters."

According to the letter, Team Dayton had only lodged 42 frivolous challenges -- that's right, my fellow fans of absurdist comedy, 42 -- compared to 2,544 from Team Emmer as of the close of business on Wednesday.

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MN-GOV

Mark Dayton To Raise Money With Bill Clinton, George Soros

Eric Kleefeld | December 2, 2010, 2:54PM

Former President Bill Clinton, gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton (D-MN)

This should just tickle certain right-wingers pink.

As Minnesota Public Radio reports, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mark Dayton has a very special fundraiser coming up, to help pay for his efforts in the state recount. The headliner at the December 13th event will be none other than former President Bill Clinton.

But that's not all. It will also be held in New York, at the home of George Soros.

Going into the recount, Dayton led Republican nominee Tom Emmer by 8,770 votes, or 0.42%. While this is within the 0.5% needed to trigger a statewide recount, many observers have doubted that Emmer could pull ahead, as Dayton's lead is probably too wide to be reversed barring any surprising discoveries in the hand count. However, a possible drawn-out legal contest could potentially result in Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty staying in office in the interim, with the opportunity to work with a newly elected Republican legislature.

MN-GOV

Emmer Camp Threatens To Sue County -- For Wanting To Add More Counting Tables

Eric Kleefeld | December 2, 2010, 12:19PM

MN-GOV candidate Tom Emmer (R)

The campaign of Minnesota Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer is continuing to challenge a whole lot of ballots in the state recount -- and a whole lot of those challenges are being declared frivolous by local officials, making for some very interesting squabbles.

As the Star Tribune reports, in Hennepin County (Minneapolis) alone, Team Emmer has made about 1,600 challenges that have been declared frivolous by local officials. Election manager Rachel Smith made an attempt to speed things up -- which she quickly abandoned, after Emmer attorney Tony Trimble attempted to sue:

To speed things up on Wednesday, Smith asked to add three or four counting tables to the 25 already set up.

Trimble objected, saying if she did so, the campaign would take the county to court. "They can't change the rules," he said.

The state Republican Party also blasted Smith. In a statement, the party said Smith "tried to change the rules in the middle of game to advance the interests of Mark Dayton."

Smith then ditched the idea, saying that it was "not worth the fight."

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MN-GOV

Dayton Camp Claims Lead Increases In MN-GOV Recount, As Team Emmer's Ballot Challenges Mount

Eric Kleefeld | December 1, 2010, 4:46PM

MN-GOV candidates Tom Emmer (R) and Mark Dayton (D)

Here is the latest update on the Minnesota gubernatorial recount, where Democratic former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton entered the recount leading Republican state Representative Tom Emmer by 8,770 votes.

(See here for an overview of their methodology, and both the necessary caveats and points in its favor, plus a primer on the issue of how ballots that are challenged by a campaign end up being handled.)

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MN-GOV

Dayton Campaign: Our Lead In MN-GOV Recount Has Grown By 205 Votes

Eric Kleefeld | November 30, 2010, 5:05PM

MN-GOV candidates Tom Emmer (R) and Mark Dayton (D)

The campaign of Minnesota Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mark Dayton just held a press conference, claiming that his lead in the recount has now grown by 205 votes, as of earlier this afternoon.

Going into the recount this week, Dayton led Republican nominee Tom Emmer by 8,770 votes, or 0.42%. While this is within the 0.5% needed to trigger a statewide recount, many observers have doubted that Emmer could pull ahead, as Dayton's lead is probably too wide to be reversed barring any surprising discoveries in the hand count. However, a possible drawn-out legal contest could potentially result in Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty staying in office in the interim, with the opportunity to work with a newly elected Republican legislature.

At the press conference, Dayton recount director Ken Martin said that in the precincts that have been recounted thus far -- representing a bit over half of the total votes -- Dayton has gained 271 votes, to Emmer gaining 66 votes, for a net Dayton gain of 205, and a current lead of 8,975.

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MN-GOV

Team Dayton: We Extended Our Lead On Day 1 Of Recount -- By 37 Votes

Eric Kleefeld | November 29, 2010, 4:22PM

Minnesota Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mark Dayton

The campaign of Minnesota Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mark Dayton has just made an announcement on the first day of the recount so far, telling a press conference that they have expanded their lead over Republican Tom Emmer, according to their calculations.

Dayton recount director Ken Martin said that with 21% of the total ballots now recounted, they estimated that they have gained 88 votes, to Emmer gaining 51 votes, for a total increase in their margin of 37 votes. Dayton went into the recount already ahead by 8,770 votes, out of about 2.1 million total ballots. (Both candidates will probably gain votes in the recount, due to the tendency to discover ballots that were too lightly marked for the optical-scan machines, but are easily recognized by the human eye.)

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MN-GOV

Reports: GOPer Emmer's Campaign Challenging Ballots In MN-GOV Recount

Eric Kleefeld | November 29, 2010, 3:14PM

Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer (R)

The ballot challenges are starting to roll in for the Minnesota gubernatorial recount -- and more of them coming from Republican nominee Tom Emmer's campaign than from Democrat Mark Dayton's, apparently. That said, things still appear to be going smoother than they did in the last statewide recount, from the long and drawn out Senate race in 2008.

The Star-Tribune reports:

According to Hennepin County election manager Rachel Smith, shortly after the recount began the Emmer representatives started filing an increasing number of challenges to would-be Mark Dayton votes that table judges deemed frivolous.

In some precincts "every third or fourth ballot" was challenged by the Emmer camp, Smith said.

...

Dayton lawyer David Lillehaug, asked about reports of frivolous challenges by Emmer representatives, showed a reporter a copy of a ballot from a Minnetonka precinct that an Emmer representative challenged because the oval was not completely filled in. The ovals appeared to almost completely blacked out and the challenge was deemed frivolous.

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MN-GOV

Minnesota Recount Part II Kicks Off Today

Eric Kleefeld | November 29, 2010, 12:00PM

MN-GOV candidates Tom Emmer (R) and Mark Dayton (D)

Minnesota is beginning its gubernatorial recount today -- its second statewide recount in two election cycles, following the even closer and heavily litigated Senate race from 2008.

Democratic nominee Mark Dayton leads Republican Tom Emmer by 8,770 votes, or 0.42%. While this is within the 0.5% needed to trigger a statewide recount, many observers have doubted that Emmer could pull ahead, as Dayton's lead is probably too wide to be reversed barring any surprising discoveries in the hand count. For example, the 2008 Senate recount resulted in a net margin shift of only a few hundred votes between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.

However, a possible drawn-out legal contest could potentially result in Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty staying in office in the interim, with the opportunity to work with a newly elected Republican legislature.

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MN-GOV

Minnesota Recount Part II Set To Begin -- As Board Figures Out The How

Eric Kleefeld | November 23, 2010, 3:25PM

MN-GOV candidates Tom Emmer (R) and Mark Dayton (D)

The Minnesota State Canvassing Board held a busy meeting this morning, as they begin to make some crucial decisions on how the recount will proceed in the gubernatorial race between Democrat Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer.

With the counties finished proofreading their spreadsheets, as well as routine hand recounts in randomly selected precincts to double-check the accuracy rate of the optical-scan machines, Dayton leads by 8,770 votes, or 0.42%. While this is within the 0.5% needed to trigger a statewide recount, many observers have doubted that Emmer could pull ahead, as Dayton's lead is probably too wide to be reversed barring any surprising discoveries in the hand count. However, a possible drawn-out legal contest could potentially result in Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty staying in office in the interim, with the opportunity to work with a newly elected Republican legislature.

With the State Canvassing Board formally declaring there would be a recount, today's meeting has been dominated by questions of how to conduct it, in light of the lessons learned from the thorough recount from the 2008 Senate race -- and the very thorough six months of extra litigation that followed it, with the result being within just a few hundred votes at the time. And a cast of familiar faces from last time, some of them in different roles this time around, grappled with these new issues.

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MN-GOV

Dayton Legal Team Proposes Change To Ballot-Challenge Process In MN-GOV Recount

Eric Kleefeld | November 23, 2010, 10:09AM

MN-GOV candidates Tom Emmer (R) and Mark Dayton (D)

The Minnesota State Canvassing Board is scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. ET today, to formally declare a recount in the gubernatorial race where Democrat Mark Dayton leads Republican Tom Emmer by less than 9,000 votes. And headed into the meeting, the Dayton campaign sent a letter to the board yesterday evening with an interesting request: Make a slight but significant change to the ballot-challenging process.

It's impossible to know at this juncture whether the board will grant this request -- and perhaps the last-minute nature of the request would lean against such a change. But it does show a clear strategy on the part of Team Dayton: With their candidate's lead being much wider than anything Norm Coleman or Al Franken ever enjoyed in the 2008 Senate recount, they're moving early to try to cut off any possible avenues for Emmer to slow down the process or cast doubt on the margin.

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MN-GOV

Minnesota Supremes Rule Against Tom Emmer -- In Record Time

Eric Kleefeld | November 22, 2010, 6:39PM

Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer (R)

The Minnesota Supreme Court has now ruled against Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer's effort to force counties to sort through precinct rolls and potentially eliminate votes deemed to be excessively cast -- a move that could have delayed the upcoming recount of the election in which Democrat Mark Dayton is ahead. And in a truly remarkable move, the court issued its ruling only about two hours after today's oral arguments.

As The UpTake reported, the ruling was unusually fast. Key quote:

Based on all the files, records, and proceedings, herein,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the petition be, and the same is, denied. So as not to impede the orderly election process, this order is issued with opinion to follow.

Petition denied.

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MN-GOV

Dayton And Emmer Lawyers Clash At State Supreme Court

Eric Kleefeld | November 22, 2010, 5:20PM

MN-GOV candidates Tom Emmer (R) and Mark Dayton (D)

The Minnesota gubernatorial race has now seen its first piece of key litigation before the state Supreme Court, with the panel having just heard arguments this afternoon on Republican nominee Tom Emmer's efforts to force counties to potentially remove ballots from the total vote count.

The subject may seem dry, but it could have a real consequence: If the court sides with Emmer, it could potentially delay the recount, which is otherwise supposed to begin on November 29. And what's more, a delay in the recount procedures could have the effect of delaying the seating of a new governor, likely keeping Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty in office in the interim. The State Canvassing Board is scheduled hold a key meeting tomorrow, at which it would order the recount to proceed.

Here is the quick overview: Minnesota law provides for, if a precinct is found to have an excessive number of votes beyond the number of people who are recorded as having voted there, to randomly remove votes from the tallies. The big questions, then, are how to properly determine what the right number is, and whether any true over-voting occurred.

Team Emmer argues that the law can only allow for the people who signed the register to be the proper measurement, while the Secretary of State's rules (which go back to the 1980s) have directed precinct workers to count up the number of separate voter receipts.

No ruling was immediately made. If experience from the last statewide recount is a guide (which is not a guarantee), then a ruling for a pressing recount matter such as this one could potentially occur within the next few days.

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MN-GOV

Mark Dayton Hires Former Franken Lead Attorney In MN-GOV Recount

Eric Kleefeld | November 22, 2010, 12:25PM

Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton (D)

The old band is back together in Minnesota. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mark Dayton last Friday signed up Marc Elias, a top Democratic election attorney who headed up Al Franken's legal team in the 2008 Senate recount and subsequent litigation, to work on the Minnesota Recount Part II fight.

Elias will join Charlie Nauen as co-lead counsel, Dayton spokesperson Denise Cardinal tells us. (Nauen also worked in the Senate recount, on an independent suit by a group of Franken voters whose absentee ballots had been rejected.) Dayton has also brought 2008 veteran attorney Kevin Hamilton on board, who will be rejoining his former legal teammate David Lillehaug in assisting Nauen and Elias.

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MN-GOV

County In Minnesota: Emmer's Argument Is 'Flawed' And 'Obsolete'

Jillian Rayfield | November 19, 2010, 4:46PM

Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer (R)

Ramsey County in Minnesota has responded to Republican Tom Emmer's complaint with the Minnesota Supreme Court that possible "overvoting" occurred in the gubernatorial race. After counting voting receipts, Ramsey County drafted a written response that called the complaint "fundamentally flawed because they rely on a statute that uses obsolete language that is inconsistent with modern election day practices."

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MN-GOV

Mark Dayton: Tom Emmer's MN-GOV Challenge Is 'Desperate'

Jillian Rayfield | November 19, 2010, 12:33PM

MN-GOV candidates Tom Emmer (R) and Mark Dayton (D)

Democrat Mark Dayton today called Republican Tom Emmer's attempt to challenge the results of Minnesota's governor's race in court "desperate."

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