Ballots

Democrat Al Franken won a pair of victories before the state board overseeing the U.S. Senate recount, including a decision that as many as 1,500 incorrectly rejected absentee ballots should be included. The board also opted to recommend the use of election night results in a Franken-leaning Minneapolis precinct where 133 ballots vanished. "It was a great day for democracy," Franken attorney Marc Elias said. Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's campaign lawyers said they would go to court over the absentee ballot ruling.

One day after The Times revealed that Los Angeles officials had secretly received a report warning that a solar power plan on the March 3 ballot was "extremely risky," the official who secured the analysis delivered it to the City Council. In envelopes stamped "confidential," Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller, the council's top policy advisor, distributed a copy of a Nov. 4 memo he wrote to Council President Eric Garcetti listing 13 warnings about the solar plan.

Democrat Al Franken clung to a 47-vote lead over Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in the state's U.S. Senate recount, but the winner won't be known before January. The state Canvassing Board scheduled a Jan. 5 meeting and its chairman said the panel's work could spill into Jan. 6 -- the day the next Congress convenes. The two campaigns and the secretary of state's office are negotiating how to handle an estimated 1,600 improperly rejected absentee ballots. And the state Supreme Court heard arguments over a Coleman claim that about 130 ballots were counted twice.

Election ballots could be safely distributed electronically to Americans abroad, but getting votes back securely could be difficult, a study says. It is difficult to protect privacy while ensuring that an electronic ballot is from a registered voter and has not been changed en route, the National Institute of Standards and Technology said. Its study, requested by the Election Assistance Commission, examines the possibility of handling overseas voting via telephone, fax, e-mail and the Internet.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs ruled Monday that Monica Rodriguez, a candidate for the City Council's 7th District, cannot call herself an "educator" on the March 6 ballot. Rodriguez is a manager of housing opportunities for the California Assn. of Realtors. John Shallman, her political consultant, said Rodriguez may appeal because her job entails educating the public on housing.

Riverside County's aging absentee ballot system needs a major overhaul, and election officials must do a better job convincing absentee voters -- who accounted for more than half the ballots cast in the November election -- to vote early, county officials said Tuesday.

"Have you seen your ballot?" Gloria Seiff of Beverly Hills asked friend and fellow resident Betty Harris over the phone. Harris had not. She opened the mail-in ballot and took one look. "I was shocked by it," she said. For the first time, Beverly Hills had translated its entire absentee and sample ballots into Persian. The ballots for the March 6 municipal election, in which two City Council seats are up for grabs, went out this month, and the response was swift.

The ballots are counted, the limos (and stylists) are circling, and Ellen's in makeup preparing for Hollywood's big night. Under the spotlights: | THE INGENUE Rinko Kikuchi faces the nomination whirlwind, mostly with a smile. Page 4 | THE SUPERSTAR Kudos to Eddie Murphy, 'Norbit' be damned. Page 6 | MEXIWOOD A golden moment for Latino filmmakers. Page 8 | THE INTERLOPER Why won't somebody invite Ken Davitian? Page 14 | PLUS Fashion intelligence, Old Hollywood glam, a ballot and more.

BEST PICTURE "Babel" "The Departed" "Letters From Iwo Jima" "Little Miss Sunshine" "The Queen" ----- DIRECTOR Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel" Martin Scorsese, "The Departed" Clint Eastwood, "Letters From Iwo Jima" Stephen Frears, "The Queen" Paul Greengrass, "United 93" ----- ACTOR Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond" Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson" Peter O'Toole, "Venus" Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness" Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland" ----- ACTRESS Penelope Cruz, "Volver"

Re "For some, Beverly Hills ballots went too Farsi," Feb. 23 Nearly 30 years have gone by since the original Iranian immigrants settled in Beverly Hills and the surrounding areas. By far, the majority of us spoke perfect English even then. Since that time, two generations of our children have been born and educated in this country. They have excelled -- indeed, become leaders -- in every artistic, professional and commercial field. The printing of Persian-language ballots for a population that is as successful and integrated as the Iranians in Beverly Hills is patronizing and offensive to the very people it purports to serve.