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Regardless of how lively an election season might be, a new study shows that more 3.3 million voters on current registration rolls across the country are dead. Another 12.9 million remain on voter registration lists in an area where they no longer live. The analysis was conducted by the Aristotle International Inc., a technology company specializing in political campaigns, developing software and databases for politicians. In total that means about 8.9 percent of all registered voters fall under the category of “deadwood” voters on the rolls, the term for voters who should no longer be eligible to vote in a...

KSTP investigated absentee ballot inconsistencies and reported their findings last night, and you can watch the video here. Many cities put up roadblocks to their investigation request -- and Bloomington threatened felony charges against KSTP if they reported on their findings. The most damning part is Sec. of State Mark Ritchie's denial of problems and response when asked to look at ballot envelopes and comment. "Ritchie first told us he could not read our examples, then said he wouldn't look at photocopies of absentee ballot envelopes." A 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigation has found that mistakes made with absentee ballots in...

Sometimes the dems know no bottom to the cesspool within which they live. Franken offers an amendment to the Defense appropriations bill. It stems from the awful case of Jamie Leigh Jones who was allegedly sexually abused while working for contractor Halliburton/KBR in Iraq.

If the next election is the first time you will vote there is something called a "spoiled ballot" and they will not count your if challanged and it is spoiled. In Minnesota, incumbant Republican Norm Coleman lost to radio talk show host Al Franken in a very close election. The election was decided by a few hundred votes. Each of the states have their own rules about conducting elections. In Florida the Bush v. Gore election was close and "voter intent" seemed to be the Florida standard with the hanging chad. Take a look at this ballot. Here the voter's...

Theresa Marie Barslou said she voted for the first time in the November 2008 elections. Nearly a year later, her vote has come back to haunt her. Barslou, 29, of St. Paul, illegally voted as a felon on probation, states a Ramsey County criminal complaint charging her with felony voter fraud. Barslou was arrested Monday after she failed to appear last month at a court hearing. She was released the next day on $3,000 bail. Barslou is one of the 23 felons charged with voter fraud in Ramsey County since the 2008 elections, County Attorney Susan Gaertner said. During a...

Homeland Security: Provisions of the law that spared New York another 9/11 are set to expire Dec. 31. So why do Democrats want to gut this law and remove the immunity telecom companies have for helping protect America? To borrow a British expression from World War II, it was a very near thing. The capture, arrest and indictment of 24-year-old Afghan immigrant Najubullah Zazi before he could set off bombs made from store-bought chemicals prevented a tragedy of potentially devastating proportions. It wouldn't have happened if the critics of Patriot Act had their way. The capture of Zazi was made...

A conservative group and several gubernatorial candidates are asking Democratic Attorney General Lori Swanson to investigate ACORN over voter registrations and other activities in Minnesota. Minnesota Majority president Jeff Davis says a felon convicted of registering illegally in Ramsey County claimed an ACORN canvasser helped her. He was joined at a news conference on Wednesday by a handful of GOP candidates and one Democrat.

Did ACORN Elect Al Franken? Remember Franken won his seat by a little more than 300 votes and ACORN might have helped Franken to get his "landslide" margin in one of two ways,in the actual counting of the votes, or the new voters registered by ACORN... Minneapolis Secretary of State Mark Ritchie was the guy in charge of counting the votes. Richie a former Community Organizer, was elected two years ago with help from former self-described Nazi Collaborator George Soros and ACORN. In 2006, the Minnesota ACORN Political Action Committee endorsed Ritchie and donated to his campaign. According to the...

Here's a shocker. ACORN may have helped Al Franken steal the US senate seat from Minnesota. The Minnesot Star-Tribune reported: But ACORN does have a special place in its heart for at least one prominent Minnesota politician. Last year, it showered praise on Al Franken, endorsing his run for the U.S. Senate. Franken returned the esteem: "I'm thrilled and honored to receive this endorsement," he gushed in a press release. He added that he was "more motivated than ever to work with ACORN."

Unless you've been stuck in the Gobi Desert, you've read the headlines about the scandal at ACORN -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Earlier this month, ACORN staffers in four states were caught giving not-so-sage advice to two journalists, posing as a pimp and a prostitute, on how to defraud the government, cheat on taxes and wangle a mortgage for a home-based brothel. ACORN was once the darling of Democrats for its support of every item on the left-wing wish list. Suddenly, its employees can hardly find a Democrat who will answer their phone calls. When the...

Rasmussen Reports has just released a new approval/disapproval poll from the late great state of Minnesota, a state which has elected Jesse Ventura and Al Franken into statewide & federal offices, perhaps the two largest disgraces to elected office in history. Anyhow, polling data does not go well for Senator Franken, who is entering his third month in the United States Senate, after ballots mysteriously we're found to give him the edge over Republican Senator Norm Coleman. The polling data is not good for Franken, as he has to be the least liked new Senator in the United States of...

Tony Trimble couldn't catch a break. As one of the lead attorneys for Sen. Norm Coleman following Election Day, he hadn't stopped working in months. And as he watched the Republican's lead over Democrat Al Franken slip steadily and then finally vanish in the largest recount in American history, he marveled at how everything seemed to be breaking Franken's way. Clerical corrections, countless one- and two-vote shifts from sloppily filled-out ballots, major judicial rulings. They all added to Franken's vote quarry. In the closing days of the recount, Trimble watched, dumbstruck, as 933 rejected absentee ballots — once the domain...

After a banner bounce-back year for Democrats in 2006, many believed the 2008 Senate race was theirs to lose. In 2002, when Coleman was elected with Bush's blessing, 70 percent of Minnesotans approved of the president's performance. By 2008, 70 percent disapproved. A hurricane had flooded New Orleans in 2005, and two years later at the other end of the Mississippi River, an interstate bridge in Minneapolis had collapsed into those waters. Polls showed the state of Minnesota, like the rest of the country, wanted change. The campaign got personal early. Already being knocked around for his jokes and writings,...

The state's judges are paying tribute to the three-judge panel that decided the winner of Minnesota's disputed U.S. Senate election between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman. The Minnesota District Judges Foundation has presented its Community Service Award to Judges Elizabeth Hayden of Stearns County, Kurt Marben of Pennington County and Denise Reilly of Hennepin County. It says they displayed "the highest levels of professionalism, public service, and judicial independence and integrity." The three judges declared Franken the winner by 312 votes in April. The Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed the panel's decision in June. Coleman decided not to appeal...

In a pair of crowded, cluttered, work-ripened hotel suites, campaign workers quietly tapped at their laptops and could hardly believe what they saw. The roars and tears of supporters of Barack Obama and John McCain had long subsided. It was the early morning after Election Day 2008, time for them to either celebrate or drown their sorrows. But these stalwarts of the bitter red-vs.-blue U.S. Senate battle between Norm Coleman and Al Franken stayed at their posts and nervously watched the numbers. Which were frozen. After two years and $40 million, Coleman and Franken were tied and headed into overtime....

On the linked video, Al Franken engages in a debate about healthcare with a group of tea partiers. Based on the title and the reaction from his supporters (link, link), I'm going to guess Franken won the debate handily. 1. While the people in the video might have valid concerns, perhaps it would be smarter if they had put their egos aside and let someone else express those concerns to Franken. Franken is a politician and he's familiar with the legislation; a trial lawyer who's familiar with the legislation might have been able to show how Franken is wrong about...

What was supposed to be a swanky Summit Avenue fundraiser for Sen. Al Franken on Thursday was abruptly canceled when Franken discovered that the host of the event served a year in prison for swindling some northern Minnesotans. Mark Erjavec, who describes himself as an entrepreneur specializing in distressed real estate, may be a newcomer to the political scene but he is well known in the courtroom. Besides the 1997 theft by swindle conviction, the 33-year-old Erjavec has faced over $100,000 in tax liens and civil judgments. General Electric sued him for copyright infringement. His personal website has a link...

Sen. Al Franken holds his first meetings in the Twin Cities that focus on health care reform. The first meeting Wednesday brings together faith leaders, union representatives, health and welfare groups and consumer advocates to talk about what they want for Minnesota as the federal government grapples with policy changes. The second discussion Wednesday focuses on women's health issues, with an array of women's groups on the agenda. Franken is a Democrat who took office seven weeks ago after a lengthy unresolved election.

Senator Franken, being an upstanding member of Congress, is spending the recess meeting with constituents and discussing the hot topic of health care. That’s commendable. Except, I noticed something quite peculiar about an email I came across this morning from Franken.

Franken's staff didn't tell media that today's meetings were private, but do tell how Franken plans to discuss health care with his constituents. Twila Brase updated us: I have just talked with Sen. Franken's office which informed me that the press release about the meetings was misunderstood by the media. The roundtable meetings are closed to the public. Franken will be meeting this afternoon with a select group of people from the health care industry. When asked about town hall meetings for the rest of the public, I was told that Sen. Franken will be meeting people at the State...

Constituents of Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann have two chances this week to discuss pressing issues with her, including a public forum on health care. The 6th District Republican will be in St. Cloud today to tackle questions about Social Security. The seminar is geared toward women and Bachmann says she'll be joined by an official from the Social Security Administration. On Thursday, Bachmann heads to Lake Elmo for the health care forum. She'll be accompanied by Congressman Michael Burgess, a fellow Republican from Texas who has a background in medicine.

Politics: The mantra from 2000's presidential recount doesn't seem to apply to the 2008 Minnesota Senate race. As the GOP incumbent pursues his court challenge, Democrats want the game called due to leading.This week in St. Paul, Minn., Republican Sen. Norm Coleman got to present his case of a stolen election before a three-judge panel, the last step in a very long and winding contest. The Democrats get to conduct an exercise in hypocrisy in this "election contest," as it's called, that may last three to four weeks. "Let every vote count" was the rallying cry after Al Gore lost...

Politics: Should the election law in Massachusetts be changed to keep Ted Kennedy's seat filled and get ObamaCare passed? As in Minnesota and Illinois, the voters might lose again.Recognizing his own mortality and waging a valiant battle against brain cancer, Kennedy has written a letter to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, state Senate President Theresa Murray and state House Speaker Robert DeLeo asking them to change the law so his seat might be filled immediately until a special election could be held. His letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Boston Globe, does not specially mention his illness or...

When politicians first take office, they usually ride on a bubble of good will among their constituents. Consider it the triumph of hope over experience; after an election, most people hope they will do well even if they didn’t support the winner in the election. With that in mind, Eric Ostermeier looks at Al Franken’s initial job-approval ratings after a month in office, and finds that bubble missing entirely: A newly released SurveyUSA poll conducted only two weeks into Franken’s tenure finds Minnesotans unsurprisingly divided about how he is conducting himself as their Senator in Washington. The poll finds 43...

Minnesota Senator Al Franken made a stop at the Mayo Clinic today as the U.S. Senate works on its own health care reform bill. One of the more heavily debated issues when it comes to reform is that so-called public option or government run health care. So today, we found out where Minnesota’s Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar stand on that very topic. Minnesota Senator Al Franken walked into the Kahler Grand Hotel this afternoon after touring Mayo Clinic. Health care reform is one of the biggest domestic issues facing the federal government right now and Franken was quick...

Americans across the country have noticed that their politicians have gone missing during the health care debate. They are nowhere to be found. So we here at The Big Feed feel compelled to do our part. We have decided to sponsor the search effort for one of those senators. (Picture) Here's the list of the rest of the missing politicians, via Hot Air: * Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) * Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH) * Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) * Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) * Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) * Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) * Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) * Rep....

Color of Change has an axe to grind with Glenn Beck -- and it's personal. The extremist racial grievance group isn't happy that Beck did several news packages on Van Jones, President Obama's controversial green jobs czar who describes himself as a communist. [...] Jones is a founding board member of Color of Change, but [the group] doesn't want you to know that. Maybe having an avowed America-hating radical on the group's board is bad public relations. The group deleted references to Jones on its "about" page. [...] The old page still exists in the Google cache. [...] The 501(c)(4)...

As the national health care debate grows more strident, members of Minnesota's congressional delegation say constituents are swamping their switchboards and e-mail in-boxes to weigh in on the issue. Despite a full plate of other issues facing the Obama administration and Congress -- from the still-sickly economy to dual wars overseas -- health care trumps them all. Fully half the calls made to Democratic Sen. Al Franken's office are on health care. It's also Topic One in the office of U.S. Second District Rep. John Kline, where more than 3,000 calls, letters and e-mails have poured in, with most running...

Just weeks into his Senate term, Al Franken's portfolio compares favorably to any of the Senate's freshman members. He loves policy. He has signed on as co-sponsor to a half dozen bills, asked thoughtful questions of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, and immersed himself in a thorny debate over health care reform. Before he was seated, Franken and his aides intoned he would take a path well-trod by already-famous Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama before him. The idea is to work hard, pick a few issues and do your best to drown your celebrity by focusing on the...

It took four years of George Bush’s second term to push Republicans to a recent nadir in registration in Minnesota. It only took six months of Barack Obama to push the GOP back into parity with the DFL, the state’s Democratic Party. Eric Ostermeier at Smart Politics looks at the suddenly-stronger Republican Party and draws at least one of the correct conclusions: The SurveyUSA poll finds 34 percent of Minnesotans now identify as Republicans - the largest percentage enjoyed by the GOP in 63 surveys conducted by the organization dating back to its inaugural tracking poll in May 2005, when...

Five years after he put his money behind the Swift Boat ads that helped tanked John Kerry’s presidential campaign, Senate Democrats gave T. Boone Pickens a warm welcome at their weekly policy lunch Thursday. Or at least most of them did. Kerry skipped the regularly scheduled lunch; his staff said the Massachusetts Democrat “was unable to attend because he had a long scheduled lunch with his interns and pages.” Sen. Al Franken managed to make time for the lunch – but then let Pickens have it afterward. According to a source, the wealthy oil and gas magnate and author of...

As predicted by many, it appears the meltdown of the most emotionally unstable member of the United States Senate is finally underway.After being a good boy during the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings, the newly fraudulently installed Sen. Al Franken (D-ACORN), couldn't resist letting T. Boone Pickens have it for funding those delightful Swift Boat ads that helped bury John Kerry's presidential prospects.The Politico reports According to a source, the wealthy oil and gas magnate and author of "The First Billion is the Hardest" stepped up to introduce himself to Franken in a room just off the Senate Floor after the...

The Census Bureau today is reporting what Minnesotans have long known and can be proud of: Minnesota's citizens consistently lead the nation in casting their ballots. Newly released census figures show that in the 2008 presidential election, Minnesota and the District Columbia led the nation in turnout with 75 percent. The national average was 63.6 percent. For the nation as a whole, about 131 million people reported voting in the 2008 presidential election, an increase of 5 million from 2004. The increase included about 2 million more black voters, 2 million more Hispanic voters and about 600,000 more Asian voters,...

This is a two-minute clip from Glenn's TV show yesterday, highlighting two of the most ABSURD moments from the Sotomayor hearing. It's too funny (and depressing) at the same time.

Sen. Al Franken got some chuckles at Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing with a cheeky observation about the classic TV show "Perry Mason": "It amazes me that you wanted to become a prosecutor based on the show, because in 'Perry Mason' the prosecutor on that show lost every week" except for one episode. Grilled further, Sotomayor couldn't remember which episode the famed defense attorney came up short — and neither could Franken. ------------------------- You can see a video of the genius in action HERE.

Here is video today from the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearing for Sonia Sotomayor, where new Minnesota Sen. Al Franken used his precious time and opportunity to talk with her about -- Perry Mason episodes! The Senate has a bright new bulb on display! . . . . (Watch Video)

We've never had an Official U.S. Senate Pornographer before, though pornographic behavior is frequently the entertainment provided to the public by the world's oldest deliberative body. So Al Franken, the answer to Harry Reid's prayer, should fit right in. Some of the Democrats can't wait to see what mischief they can do. "With the Minnesota recount complete," Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said after the Minnesota robbery was completed, "it is now clear that Al Franken won the election." (Keep reading, it gets better)

The new Senator from Minnesota, Al Franken, was still a comedian and just starting to be an author when I met him at a radio studio in San Francisco in 1996. I was pitching my "The Case Against Immigration" book. I made the case to him in the waiting room. He didn't seem to buy it then. And he definitely didn't buy it last week in his first votes in favor of keeping U.S. jobs in the hands of illegal foreign workers. A LIBERAL CASE TOO HARD FOR A LIBERAL TO SWALLOW? I had spoken to an environmentalist gathering in...

" ... Franken told Sotomayor that she was "the most experienced Supreme Court nominee in 100 years." He said her story is inspirational and one in which "all Americans should take great pride in ..."

His first votes were largely along party lines, including one against a measure to require building 700 miles of border fence by 2011, which he opposed because "none of the relevant effective law enforcement agencies were asking for it," spokeswoman Jess McIntosh said. Fellow Democrat Amy Klobuchar voted for the measure. Many of Franken's new staffers -- 26 hired so far -- are Washington veterans, including chief of staff Drew Littman, a former lobbyist who has been an instrumental figure in setting up many Senate offices over the years. Franken also signed on to his first earmark requests on Wednesday...

....Peel away that thin layer of overt partisan spin, however, and it becomes clear that unease related to Franken's legendary personal baggage remains as strong as ever. Worse, his recent words and actions have generated new anger, this time from the left. Leading the charge on that front is MSNBC / syndicated radio libtalker Ed Schultz, who has been outspoken this week in airing grievances against a politician whose candidacy he strongly supported. Schultz believes Franken has already sold out his beliefs in exchange for Beltway-style good 'ol boys acceptance. From Tuesday's radio program, here's the exclusive audio and transcript:...

Ladies and gentlemen…. The Distinguished Senator from the great state of Minnesota… This is an actual image! I swear!

GOP zeroes in on Al Franken in new ad View article...

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock star, HuffPost blogger and rumored Senate candidate, took a swipe at Jack Cafferty over comments he made yesterday on CNN. In talking about actors running for office, Cafferty described Baldwin's credentials as "questionable," but noted that Al Franken is Harvard-educated. That prompted Baldwin to ask: "So Franken fits the mold for Cafferty because he went to Harvard? I would like to make a deal with Cafferty. Jack, you don't tell people that a career in the performing arts disqualifies them from seeking elected office, and I won't say publicly that your being convicted of leaving the...

As a military officer for 30 years, I came to recognize the necessity of good leadership. When I retired from the military in 1998, I became active politically in the Republican Party. Since that time, I've been elected to two National Republican Conventions, acted as a military spokesperson for the Bush/Cheney campaign in 2004, and served as national veterans coordinator for Fred Thompson's presidential run. In 2007, I ran for Minnesota GOP party chair as a reform candidate, and lost. Over the years I have raised tens of thousands of dollars for GOP coffers, donated many thousands of dollars to...

Here is a new ad put out by the NRSC (National Republican Senatorial Committee) that starkly shows the powerful majority Democrats now have in Congress with the additon of Al Franken as their 60th vote. The ad reminds voters that 2010 will be their opportunity to hold the Democrats accountable for what they have done, and are trying to do to America. . . . . . (Watch Video)

WASHINGTON – Turns out that not-funny senator bit was an act. "I'm an extremely good-looking person," satirist-turned-senator Al Franken cracked as photographers snapped his picture Tuesday after he took the oath of office. Funny, ha-ha. But the Senate can be funny-odd, too, not to mention unforgiving. Even as some Democrats insisted that Franken's vote as the 60th senator in their party could make it harder, not easier, to pass bills, they rewarded the man who delivered the alleged burden of a supermajority with an illustrious debut.

I have been debating this question for the last several days. As a Specter constituent, I am leaning in his direction, as the man who may have single-handedly destroyed the U.S.A. with his vote for the stimulus package. I have considered whether I should chastise myself for sending him too many emails before he switched parties, since he can now break a GOP filibuster. But I am firmly convinced he will be defeated when he runs next year. Franken, on the other hand, will be around for six more years. So perhaps he is the most dangerous. Let me know...

Rev. Rob Schenck was among invited guests at a special reception held in the US Senate Hart Office Building today for newly sworn US Senator Al Franken of Minnesota. Rev. Schenck cheerfully greeted Sen. Franken with a good-natured question about the former comedian's caustic and often insulting jokes about Christians and what they believe. Photo: Rev. Rob Schenck (L) greets new Senator Al Franken (R) with a question about the former comedian's caustic anti-Christian humor. Rev. Schenck is the president of both the National Clergy Council and it's lay affiliate, Faith and Action, a Christian missionary outreach to elected and...

FReep this poll: what kind of senator will Al Franken be?