DFL sues over absentee-ballot plan; Hennepin County breaks with state officials BY RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER PIONEER PRESS ST. PAUL The Democratic Farmer-Labor party has filed a lawsuit with the Minnesota Supreme Court against the Minnesota secretary of state and Hennepin County over the way absentee ballots are being handled in the wake of U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone’s death. Already though, Hennepin County, the state’s largest county, has broken ranks with the advice of Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer and Attorney General Mike Hatch over the ballot issue. Patrick O’Connor, longtime auditor for the county, has decided -- contrary to the...