The American Pundit

The Canvassing Board doesn’t have the authority to order counties to review absentee ballots, but it did recommend a review.

Several hundred absentee ballots have been wrongfully rejected in the Nov. 4 election and that total could more than double by the time all Minnesota counties turn in their reviews, the secretary of state’s office this morning told a panel charged with overseeing the recount in the overtime U.S. Senate contest between Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Democratic rival Al Franken.

Moments later, the five-member state Canvassing Board voted unanimously to ask election officials in all 87 counties to count the improperly rejected ballots. However, the board members stressed that they only have the authority to make a recommendation.

The board was told this morning that 49 counties have examined 4,823 rejected absentee ballots and 638 of those were determined by local officials to have been wrongfully rejected.

Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann also reported that if that trend holds — with more than 13 percent of the rejected absentee ballots tossed improperly — there would end up being nearly 1,600 wrongfully set aside.

Ed Morrissey makes the case as to why it may not be enough for Franken to pull-off a win. I pretty much agree.