Tom Purcell decided Tuesday morning not to appeal an Anoka District judge's ruling that Dan Sparks was elected senator in District 27 Nov. 5 to the state Supreme Court.

After a two-day hearing, Quinn decided to not count any of the 17 burned ballots and based his decision on the recount totals and the 32 contested ballots. He ruled Monday afternoon that Sparks won by five votes over incumbent Grace Schwab.

Joseph Quinn, a district judge in Anoka County, said Sparks' certificate of election is "proper and should be recognized."

Purcell said he won a major decision when the judge decided not to count the burned ballots.

"That was critical to preserving the integrity of the election," Purcell said. "However, after reading his decisions on each of the 32 contested ballots, I've decided we got a fair hearing and the best decision we could expect."

Of the 32 contested ballots, Quinn awarded Sparks 15, four more than the state Canvassing Board gave him and incumbent Grace Schwab 13, two more than she was given.

By Quinn's determination, Sparks earned 15,091 votes, while Schwab received 15,086.

Fritz Knaak, Purcell's attorney, said he was ready to move forward with an appeal, but said it was up to Purcell. He said he thinks the residents in District 27 want the election to be over with.

Purcell, of Austin, appealed the state Canvassing Board's Dec. 10 decision to certify Sparks as the winner. He said the way 17 destroyed ballots and 32 contested ballots were handled was a disservice to voters. The appeal hearing was held Jan. 2 and 3.

Jeanette Dennison, an election judge in Austin's 2nd Ward, 1st Precinct, admitted Friday at the Mower County court house she burned 17 absentee ballots, believed to be votes for the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, from that precinct after election night. She said she misunderstood City Clerk Lucy Johnson's instructions.

In the recount of that precinct, Sparks lost eight votes. Three of five Canvassing Board members sided with Sparks' attorney's argument that when the ballots have been tampered with, the election night totals should be used. The board awarded those eight votes to Sparks.

Sparks said he has been declared the winner in this election four times.

"We hope this would take away any uncertainty," he said.

His attorney, Brian Rice, also was pleased with the ruling.

"You can slice it, dice it, bake it, broil it and steam it, it comes up Sparks," Rice said.

"I don't know how many times you can make sure Sparks won."

Schwab said she had read the ruling this morning and planned to release a statement Tuesday morning. She said Monday she wants to make sure his decision was fair.

"Our district needs representation. I just want to make sure the ballots were fairly counted," she said.

Schwab said she thought not including the 17 burned ballots was a good decision.

Sparks said he can understand that the judge could not rule on destroyed ballots, but he said he still thinks most of the 17 ballots would have been votes for him.

"Thank God we had that 33-vote margin to begin with," he said.

Results from election night showed Sparks winning by 33 votes. After the recount he was ahead by three, but after the state Canvassing Board ruled on the 17 destroyed ballots and 32 contested ballots, Sparks was ahead by 11 and named senator.

Rice, while he disagrees with Quinn's decision about the 17 ballots, said he understood that the judge did not want to speculate on ballots he could not see.

"I respect that," he said.

Knaak said the ruling was a well-thought decision, but he disagreed with some points on the contested ballots.

"There are things we like about it and things we don't like," he said.

Knaak said the judge made the right decision when he did not include any of the 17 burned ballots.

Purcell said people he has spoken with about the case say they are satisfied that this appeal brought more facts out about the race.

"All agreed that the case was not so simple as people thought it was two weeks ago," he said in a statement he released Monday night.

Erica Ulstrom, a spokeswoman for the senate Republican caucus, said Sen. Dick Day (R-Owatonna) and other senate leaders met Monday night to talk about Quinn's decision. The caucus backed Purcell's appeal and is paying for his legal costs. Knaak also said met Monday with the caucus leaders.

Ulstrom said the caucus was planning to release a statement Tuesday morning.

Sparks will be sworn in as state senator for District 27 at noon Tuesday. He said his transition time has been shorter than most freshman senators, but said he wants to "get to work."

"It's going to be exciting," he said.

Purcell gave his regards to Sparks.

"I congratulate Mr. Sparks and wish him well," Purcell said.

Cari Quam can be reached at 434-2235 or by e-mail at cari.quam@austindailyherald.com