A very awkward moment just happened in the Minnesota Senate trial. Judge Kurt Marben, as opposed to a Franken lawyer, actively asked about a problem with the photocopy of an absentee ballot that Coleman lawyer Joe Friedberg was presenting, which was missing the section where a voter would list proof of residence.
Friedberg said that this was how they received the document itself from the county. This led to a very uncomfortable exchange between the lawyers, the judges and even the witness Kevin Corbid, the head elections official in Washington County, lasting for several minutes.
Judge Denise Reilly chimed in: “The issue is it was rejected for proof of residence, and the part of the ballot showing proof of residence is the part that’s been cut off.” Corbid added that it was possible that the proof of residence was removed when a separate flap was torn off of the envelope, accidentally taking that section with it.
Who knows.
On the other hand, Coleman has managed to make some headway today in his fundamental legal claim.
Friedberg has been examining Corbid, whose county voted for Coleman 47%-37%. Corbid is a real stickler for the rules — he does not believe that mistakes by elections officials would release the voter from satisfying the relevant requirements. He also believes that the law requires a valid driver’s license number to be included in the proof of residence section on the forms.
By contrast, different opinions on those exact questions were given over the last few days from Joe Mansky, the elections director in the Democratic stronghold of Ramsey County. This boosts Coleman’s case that the statewide rules are being applied differently, and this has resulted in a constitutional violation wherein election officials in pro-Coleman areas have been keeping out votes that might have put him ahead.
