“When Al Franken and his attorneys take to the airwaves hours after the election ends and make unfounded accusations alleging massive voter irregularities and fraud, the silence from Secretary of State Mark Ritchie was deafening.  When the Coleman campaign raises legitimate ballot security concerns, over instances such as 32 new ballots appearing in the car of a Minneapolis city official, Mr. Ritchie goes on a national media campaign characterizing our actions as political. His accusation today that our campaign intends to win ‘at any price’ is offensive, demands an apology and simply underscores our concerns about his ability to act as an unbiased official in this recount.   His statement is not reflective of the objective, non-partisan standards Minnesotans expect and deserve, and which Mr. Ritchie as Secretary of State is sworn to uphold.  And we are concerned about the pattern we are seeing.”    

 

 

“Asked about the Coleman campaign's criticism of the recanvassing process, Ritchie said: ‘Their goal is to win at any price. They’ve invested millions and millions of dollars. We consider this part of the normal political rhetoric,’ said Ritchie. ‘We're used to the political rhetoric being amped up. That’s part of their job — to win at any price.’”   (Josh Kraushaar, “MN Secretary of State: Coleman's goal 'to win at any price,'” The Politico, November 12, 2008)

 

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