Canvassing Board meeting to rule on final challenged ballots

The State Canvassing Board will begin determining the fate of contested ballots today in the recount of the gubernatorial election.

The Secretary of State's office says the canvassing board will be reviewing 181 challenged ballots; 90 by Republican Tom Emmer's campaign, 91 by DFLer Mark Dayton's side. They represent the remaining challenges that local election officials did not rule frivolous.

There are fewer than 30 other Emmer ballot challenges that local officials ruled frivolous. The board has not decided whether it will review those.

Gary Poser from the Secretary of State's office said if what happened during the 2008 ballot review holds true this time around, the board will end up siding with local election officials, not the campaigns, in the vast majority of cases.

"They will be looking individually to determine the voter intent from the ballot," Poser said. "Just like the local recount official would have looked at the ballot to determine how they thought the voter intended to vote, I think in 2008 well over 95 percent or higher than they agreed with the local recount official and didn't over turn. "

Unofficial results of the recount show Dayton had a nearly 9,000 vote lead.

Because the campaigns withdrew so many challenges, the board will not likely need three days to go through those that remain. The board is scheduled to certify the results of the governor's race recount at a meeting next week.

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