Minn. high court to hear KSTP-TV's absentee ballot case

The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to hear KSTP-TV's attempt to gain access to rejected absentee ballots that were never counted in the 2008 U.S. Senate race.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected the station's arguments in a decision last August. It decided the rejected ballots count as private information under the state's Data Practices Act.

But in an order released Thursday, the Supreme Court agreed to take another look. A date for oral arguments has not been set.

After a protracted recount and court trial, Democrat Al Franken edged Republican incumbent Norm Coleman by 312 votes out of 3 million cast.

KSTP and other Hubbard Broadcasting Corp. stations have said their goal is to examine how the process worked in 2008, and where it didn't.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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