Seventeen missing ballots in Austin have become critical after the recount for State Senate District 27 resulted in a margin of only three votes, narrowed from the original 33-vote difference between Sen. Grace Schwab, R-Albert Lea, and DFL challenger Dan Sparks of Austin.

The recount also set aside 32 contested ballots that will be examined by the State Canvassing Board. Depending on the final tally, the entire election could be questioned.

&uot;It appears that these 17 ballots were inadvertently destroyed,&uot; Austin City Clerk Lucy Johnson said in a press release about the unprecedented event in the first precinct of the city’s Second Ward. &uot;While it appears that the destruction of these ballots resulted from confusion arising out of votes made in the United States Senate race, further investigation will be necessary to determine the exact series of events.&uot;

Schwab got 15,073 votes and Sparks 15,076 after the three-day recount by the Secretary of State’s office, which was completed around midnight Friday at the Freeborn County courthouse. In the county, Schwab got 7,586 votes, up by 11 from Election Day, and Sparks 6,643, up by 14.

The 17 missing ballots could easliy nullify the three-vote difference.

Secretary of State legal analyst Bert Black, who led the recount team, and attorneys for both candidates had a telephone conference with Austin election officials Friday to figure out the reason for the discrepancy.

&uot;An election judge left with the 17 ballots that we think are absentee ballots who voted for the late Senator Paul Wellstone,&uot; Sparks’ attorney, Brian Rice, said. &uot;There were 17 overvotes in the Wellstone column. And the city was directed to take them out. Apparently, the election judge in the precinct thought it meant to get rid of the ballots.&uot;

Investigations so far show that the election judge put the ballots in a bag, brought them back home and discarded them.

Stressing that Sparks lost eight votes in that particular precinct in the recount while Schwab gained 13, Rice contends the loss of the ballots for Wellstone affected Sparks, because both are Democrats.

&uot;You cannot explain dropping eight votes,&uot; Rice said.

Precincts in Austin used an optical scanner to count the ballots in the Nov. 5 election. Mower County Auditor Woody Vereide explained that the machine yields more undervotes than a handccount since the human eye can read the intent of a ballot even when the voter did not properly connect the arrow. So, it is typical that candidates gain more votes in a recount. In all five other precincts in Austin, both candidates actually wound up with more votes than in the original count.

&uot;No one can say for a fact that those were Sparks’ votes,&uot; Schwab’s attorney, Fritz Knaak, rebuffed. &uot;Right now, you cannot count what you don’t have here. So, it’s hard to say what is going to happen. If it really comes close or if at some point Schwab is able to turn this thing around, I would expect the entire election would be challenged.&uot;

The majority of the 32 contested ballots were Schwab votes. But Rice said, &uot;We should gain at least a minimum of two, possibly as many as six.&uot;

But, Knaak countered, &uot;If we are successful in overturning the majority of them, she (Schwab) shall win. That’s a real possibility.&uot;

Twelve of the contested ballots are from Albert Lea Township precinct 2. According to County Auditor Dennis Distad, two voters from another precinct were somehow allowed to cast their ballots there. The number of registered voters in the precinct was 10.

&uot;People have been making a big deal out of the missing ballots, but I have a little bit of trouble with that,&uot; Schwab said. &uot;I just have a hard time with the idea they would have made or broken the race. It’s a DFL judge. I did so well in Austin in the recount. I was consistently picking up more votes than Mr. Sparks.&uot;

Schwab, who’s been anxious to see the result of recount since Nov. 5, now may have to wait longer to get a final verdict. &uot;It’s like having a baby in late term, you keep waiting for something to happen here. But, I don’t think the people should be discouraged one way or the other untill we see what the Canvassing Board would say to those 32 ballots.&uot;

&uot;We don’t want to place any blame yet, but it’s unfortunate that some of the ballots just disappeared. But we feel pretty confident that the State Canvassing Board will make the right decision.&uot; Sparks said. &uot;Austin is my hometown, and the late Senator (Wellstone) did some campaigning on my behalf here.&uot;

Winning the District 27 seat is crucial for both parties to gain control over the state senate, which now has 35 DFLers and 31 Republicans. Despite still being a minority, the GOP will have leeway to deal with the DFL if it gets closer in the number of legislators.

The Secretary of State announced that it would postpone the Canvassing Board meeting originally set for Tuesday due to the delay in another recount in the Senate District 12 between Sen. Don Samuelson, DFL-Brainerd, and GOP Don Koering of Fort Ripley.