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2008-12-31 Home Front: Politix

With only mistakenly rejected absentee ballots left to tally in Minnesota's U.S. Senate recount, Democrat Al Franken has a 50-vote lead over Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman.

The lead, Franken's largest since Election Day, buoyed the Franken campaign. "We are absolutely thrilled with where we stand," said Marc Elias, Franken recount attorney.

The Coleman campaign was less than thrilled. "We're faced with an artificial Franken lead," said Coleman recount attorney Tony Trimble. The Coleman campaign has all but promised it will contest the election results in court because it believes more than 100 votes from Franken-friendly areas were double counted.

The 50-vote lead is provisional because there are still rejected absentee ballots to count. Those absentee ballots, which local election judges mistakenly didn't count, are the latest focus of recount controversy.

In deciding a suit brought by the Coleman campaign over the absentee ballots the state Supreme Court ordered that mistakenly rejected absentee ballots could be included in the recount -- but only if the two campaigns agree they should on a ballot-by-ballot basis.

While local officials believe there are about 1,350 wrongly rejected ballots, it's not clear how many ballots the campaigns will actually send to the state for counting. Over the weekend, the Franken campaign had said it would be willing to have all those sent to the state.

Posted by Fred 2008-12-31 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11136 views ] Top

#1 Steal an election, why dont you?

Posted by newc">newc 2008-12-31 06:40|| 2008-12-31 06:40|| Front Page Top

#2 Well, we all knew he'd eventually FIND the votes. I give you the Oklahoma model. Honest, clean and simple.

Posted by Besoeker 2008-12-31 08:04|| 2008-12-31 08:04|| Front Page Top

#3 Well, whatever, our clown college of a senate deserves both Franken and Kennedy.

Posted by whitecollar redneck 2008-12-31 08:12|| 2008-12-31 08:12|| Front Page Top

#4 I agree Redneck. They've got this country so buggered up it just makes one sick.

Posted by Besoeker 2008-12-31 08:35|| 2008-12-31 08:35|| Front Page Top

#5 I've considered the senate to be a house of buffoons for a long time, but "clown college" says it even better.

Posted by Spot">Spot 2008-12-31 08:55|| 2008-12-31 08:55|| Front Page Top

#6 Following the Washington state model - keep counting until the Democrat wins.

"clown collage" might be an insult to clowns.

Posted by CrazyFool 2008-12-31 09:00|| 2008-12-31 09:00|| Front Page Top

#7 This SOB has had the IQ of a woolly worm since birth. He's even dumber now. What that says about the Minnesota electorate is beyond words.

Posted by Woozle Elmeter 2700 2008-12-31 12:41|| 2008-12-31 12:41|| Front Page Top

#8 Wonder if he'll remember to thank ACORN?

Posted by DMFD 2008-12-31 16:52|| 2008-12-31 16:52|| Front Page Top

00:52 Skidmark
00:33 EMS Artifact