Remember when Democrats wanted to “count every vote” – like, way back last November?

In a state that prides itself on high voter participation–78 percent participated in the 2008 presidential election–Minnesotans should be ashamed to know thy voters were able to cast a vote that counted in the presidential election. Specifically, of the nearly 22,000 overseas military members and dependents eligible to vote in Minnesota, only
3,362 were able to cast a vote that counted. In addition, local election officials rejected at least 302 ballots or 8.2 percent of the total number of absentee ballots cast by military members, which is nearly four times higher than the rejection rate for non-military ballot. A vast majority of these rejected ballots–about 65 percent–were rejected because they were received after the election deadline. Finally, there were approximately an additional 2,100 military absentee ballots that were sent out but never returned–many of which were lost in the mail, sent to the wrong address, or received too late by the military voter to be returned.Given these facts, it is puzzling that the contest court found no evidence of wholesale disenfranchisement. They had a military absentee voting population equal to one of the twenty-five most populous cities in Minnesota (22,000 voters), and only 15.7 percent were able to vote. When nearly 85 percent of a voting group does not participate, how could this be anything less than evidence of wholesale disenfranchisement? And, what about the fact that military absentee ballots were nearly four times more likely to be rejected by local election officials? Moreover, shouldn’t there be some concern that nearly half of the absentee ballots sent to military voters never make it to the voter or make it too late to be returned?

Minnesotans in the military overseas deserve some discussion of this issue.

I’m gonna guess they’re not going to get it from Mark Ritchie.