AUSTIN &045; Parties in the Mower County courtroom tried to untangle the mess of 17 missing ballots in the Senate District 27 election, but were limited by the absence of the election judge who burned the ballots in a fireplace.

Jeanette Dennison, an election judge for Austin Ward 2, Precinct 1, did not show up when she was called as a witness for both contestant former Austin City Councilor Tom Purcell, who is affiliated with the Republican Party, and contestee DFLer Dan Sparks, who was certified as the winner of the election by the State Canvassing Board.

Dennison’s testimony was expected to provide key information to determine how the court would rule on the allocation of the lost ballots.

The canvassing board assigned eight votes to Sparks, while Schwab gained none, assuming the decreased vote total for Sparks in that precinct after the recount related to the missing ballots.

Purcell’s attorney, Fritz Knaak, argued that the action by Dennison, a DFLer, should not benefit DFLer Sparks. Sparks’ attorney, Brian Rice asserts her party affiliation had nothing to do with the nature of the incident. For both sides, clarifying Dennison’s motive is crucial.

The attorneys said the court attempted to serve a subpoena Tuesday, but could not locate Dennison to hand it to her as the state rule requires. Presiding Judge Joseph Quinn, of Anoka County, affirmed the court would try to locate her to call in today’s hearing.

&uot;I’m genuinely interested in what she has to say,&uot; Knaak said.

Rice said, &uot;Sparks did not pick Ms. Dennison (as an election judge), and she was never in his campaign.&uot; He also stated that Dennison said she voted for Schwab in a state DFL survey before the election.

Three witnesses &045; Austin City Clerk Lucy Johnson, Deputy City Clerk Cheryl Hays, and election judge Sherri Forman, all of whom worked with Dennison on election night &045; testified.

Johnson said the number of ballots did not match the vote totals in three precincts in Austin for the U.S. Senate election. She identified the problem as the absentee ballots cast for the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, and instructed judges not to include those ballots in the number. Not including the 17 ballots in Ward 2, Precinct 1 would have balanced the discrepancy. But, Dennison apparently thought she had to remove the ballots physically.

None of the three witnesses actually saw Dennison take the ballots away. But Hays recalled that Dennison asked for a bag while she was leaving City Hall, and Forman testified that Dennison said to her: &uot;I know what I’m going to do with these ballots. They are going right into my fireplace.&uot;

All of the witnesses, including Dennison, were been granted immunity from criminal charges by the Mower County Attorney’s Office and State Attorney General’s Office in the course of investigation.

Knaak also called two witnesses who voted for Wellstone and Schwab on absentee ballots, apparently to shake the ground of the canvassing board’s judgment.

Besides the 17 missing ballots, the court today will examine the 32 contested ballots the canvassing board reviewed. The canvassing board awarded 10 of them to each candidate and determined 12 as uncountable. Of the 32, 17 are considered potential ballots for Schwab, and 15 are potentially for Sparks.

The judge was expected to issue his decision on Monday.