Franken's deficit: 236 votes

[kpete]

Source: Star Tribune

Franken's deficit: 236 votes

Sen. Norm Coleman's Democratic challenger is vowing to push ahead with a recount.

By PATRICIA LOPEZ, Star Tribune

Last update: November 6, 2008 - 9:44 PM

Just as Secretary of State Mark Ritchie was explaining to reporters the recount process in one of the narrowest elections in Minnesota history, an aide rushed in with news: Pine County's Partridge Township had revised its vote total upward -- another 100 votes for Democratic candidate Al Franken, putting him within .011 percentage points of Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman.

The reason for the change? Exhausted county officials had accidentally entered 24 for Franken instead of 124 when the county's final votes were tallied at 5:25 Wednesday morning.

"That's why we have recounts," Ritchie said, surveying the e-mail sent in from the county auditor. "Human error. People make mistakes."

The margin in the tightest Senate race in the country bounced like the stock market throughout the day, with the difference between Coleman and Franken dropping, then rising briefly to 590 votes before shooting down to a razor-thin 236 by day's end.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/34024274.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DU2EkP7K_V_GD7EaPc:iLP8iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

[myrna minx]

1. I'd like to add this article here, about what may happen after the recount.

It looks like it will go to the Courts and ultimetly the Senate. I'd love to post this article in LBN, but the true headline would sink like a stone. I hope you don't mind a piggy back on your thread.

http://wcco.com/election/al.franken.recount.2.858083.html

Sen. Margin Continues To Change Throughout Day
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ― The margin in Minnesota's unresolved Senate race just keeps changing throughout Thursday as election officials double-check their figures.

As of 4:55 p.m. Thursday, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's lead over Democrat Al Franken is 236.

With nearly 2.9 million ballots cast, that's a difference between the top two candidates of about one one-hundredth of a percentage point.

While the race is headed for an automatic recount, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken have other options to alter the outcome.

The final tally won't be certified until the state canvassing board meets Nov. 18, and an automatic recount awaits.

After a recount, the candidates or any eligible voter can head to court to challenge the way the election was conducted or the votes were tallied. The Minnesota law spelling out the contest raises the possibility of Senate involvement.

"I don't think there is any possibility it will be simply a recount," said Hamline University law professor Joseph Daly. "It is destined for the courthouse and ultimately it is destined for the United States Senate based on this law. There's too much at stake. There's too much vitriol."
Minnesota's race is one of three up in the air nationwide. Races in Georgia and Alaska are also unresolved. All three involve Republican incumbents in a year that has seen Democrats gain five seats already.

Franken went on Minnesota Public Radio to explain why he won't waive the recount, as Coleman said he would do if he was in the same position.

"This is the closest race in Minnesota history, the closest Senate race and the closest race anywhere in the country. This is just part of the process to make sure every vote is counted," Franken said, adding, "Candidates don't get to decide when an election's over -- voters do."

snip

The Minnesota election law envisions Senate involvement.

Once a result is contested in district court -- which must come within a week of the post-recount canvass -- the chief justice of the Supreme Court assigns three judges to hear it. The current chief, Eric Magnuson, is an appointee of Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Either party in the case can request to inspect the ballots, and three-member inspection teams are appointed. Each party picks one, and the third is chosen by the two or appointed by a judge.

Within 20 days of the initial filing, a trial is held. The court decides who received the most votes and is entitled to the certificate of election. The court can study evidence of election irregularities, but it can't issue findings or conclusions.

Once all appeals are exhausted, either party can ask that the information be forwarded to the presiding Senate officer.

From there, it's up to the Senate to decide how to proceed.

"Ultimately the Constitution gives the Senate the sole power to determine the qualifications of its members," Ritchie said. "In the end, there is no appeal if the Senate makes the decision."

[dysfunctional press]

33. it would have been so SWEET to see the count change and put Al ahead by 100 or so votes...

because then fuckface coleman would be bound by his statements to give up on a recount.

oh well...at least it should be entertaining for quite awhile yet, it looks like.

[kestrel91316]

2. Recount EVERY FRICKIN' BALLOT in the state. By hand. Now.

[wellstone dem]

3. Calm down, it's going to happen, it's the law.

[gratuitous]

4. Yeah, well . . .

The law in Florida in 2000 said that any requests for recounts had to be filed in specific counties by a certain date after the election day. Gore filed for recounts in three counties, the Bush team blew the deadline. Despite what the law said, I think we all remember what happened as soon as the Bush folks figured out they'd fucked up. The law no longer meant anything.

[krkaufman]

6. Right. And, in Florida, wasn't the requesting campaign on-the-hook for the expenses ...

... related to the requested recounts? (which provides a rationale for why the Gore campaign wouldn't simply call for recounts across the state)

[RL3AO]

12. Don't compare Minnesota to Florida.

We know how to run elections here in Minnesota.

[cyclezealot]

19. Were there not reports of voter machine failure in certain counties.

[goodhue]

27. no, there were no credible reports

Some machines "fail" when the power goes out, but it does not affect the integrity of the paper count. In St. Paul, power was out for 1.5 hours in two precincts, so the paper ballots had to be run through the machines once the power was restored. But it didn't interfere with voting at all.

[walktall7]

36. Question

Are democratic workers vastly outnumbered by republicans at
most voting stations?  (room for mischief?)

[krkaufman]

5. Right. Which makes me question the spin being put on the story by the Star-Trib...

... with their sub-headline:

"Sen. Norm Coleman's Democratic challenger is vowing to push ahead with a recount."

Unless I'm missing something, the recount is automatic and is mandated by state law. It goes forward regardless of any request from Franken, and it'd be undemocratic for the state to not recount such a close election -- not to mention stupid, given the razor-thin margin and the errors already found.

[RL3AO]

11. The trailing candidate can request no recount.

And Norm Coleman has said Franken should call for no recount. But of course Franken is not stupid. There will be a recount.

[AllHereTruth]

14. What Coleman says the Media reports

What Bush said in 2001 the Media reported.
What the Adminstration said in 2002 the Media reported.
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008

Get my point. When an 'elected official' says something, the Media releases it as fact

This the main problem with the MM at large. Thats why theres:
digg.com
huffingtonpost.com
current.com
democracynow.org
fair.org

[LynneSin]

17. That pisses me off! If Norm Coleman was 236 votes behind do you think he stop the recount

Hypocrisy thy name is Norm Coleman

[gratuitous]

28. We might yet get a chance to see Norm's consistency

After all, the votes are still being counted, and the gap continues to close. Should Franken indeed pull ahead at the very end by a handful of votes, I'm sure that for the good of all democracy everywhere, Norm would graciously concede defeat, turn over the keys to his office and skedaddle immediately.

Yeah, right. And monkeys might well fly out my butt. I should at least stand up.

[goodhue]

26. Every ballot will if fact be recounted by hand, but not until after Nov 18

eom

[twill612]

7. Donate to Franken to help aid the cost of the Recount

I heard Al Franken today on XM Radio and the recount won't come cheap. It's going to cost around $90k. He said people can help support the recount by donating to his campaign at http://www.alfranken.com/content/splash_recount

Lets help him out. Please forward this information on to others.

[VP505]

8. Ed Schultz said on his radio show

today that if needed he would help with a drive to raise the necessary funds for the recount.

[Bearware]

9. Maybe $90k coming out of Al's pocket will get his attention this time

I would be inclined to dig up some additional cash for him from my thin wallet but I remember he actively refused to consider talking
about election fraud when he was an Air America host. http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6634

He might have made a serious impact that long ago but instead I think I remember him being cited by the right-wing as evidence that
election fraud was not a problem. I seriously wondered about who had bought him off.:grr:

[Dogmudgeon]

10. It's all about Brad

I've seen well over a dozen nyah-nyah posts, all promoting BradBlog.

Brad isn't supporting Coleman, is he?

--p!

[Bearware]

15. No it's all about Congressional Dems not caring about election theft.

:rant: I have a computer background and have been going nuts about Democrats not caring about computer manipulation of elections. The Republicons would never have taken control of the House and Senate nor would W have been elected to a second term if the Democrats had put a stop to it.

Brad certainly is not supporting Coleman. Brad has his own ego and wants people to go to his website. Compare that to the damage that W caused after 2002 and by getting a second term. How many lives was that again? According to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_war , 150 thousand to 1 million+ people died. How many more will die because we spent an extra 4 years preventing progress on Global Warming.

To me this seems to be the ROOT symptom of Democratic spinelessness. What can be more basic than having elections stolen till you have no power at all. The Congressional Democrats have had multiple chances to take care of this or at least make it a gigantic public election issue. Have they failed to do this because the top leadership are all Quislings or merely that 40% or so of Dems in Congress are either being blackmailed with wiretapping or bribed directly? This needs to be fixed BEFORE another election. Will another Repulicon Great Depression and nearly permanently losing Democracy in America finally make this cost effective? This is more important
than Global Warming because the Cons can keep us from doing anything about it if they keep being allowed to steal power.:grr:

[DUlover2909]

13. If you didn't vote and you're a Democrat in Minnesota, shame on you.

My 2 cents.

[BootinUp]

16. Wow, getting close now. nt

[pjt7]

18. Coleman needs to keep his tone positive

the reason he didn't win by a landslide is people thought he was too spitefull.

Minnesota is like that, ya know? they like truth but with plenty of cheese on it, ya know.

[snappyturtle]

20. Having lived in MN when Coleman was elected I was dumb founded

he won. Coleman is no Wellstone. I really don't understand the election of Bachmann. And, I don't understand your comment that Minnesotans like the truth with plenty on cheese on it. Explain please.

[Divernan]

22. I think he/she confused neighboring Wisconsin(cheeseheads & proud of it) with Minnesota.

[snappyturtle]

31. Oh funny! Really, I would never have thought of that. nt

[pipoman]

23. Isn't the Wellstone memorial service

and the actions of national party leaders at the service believed by most to be what put Coleman into office in the first place? I don't know if I am remembering this right or not.

[snappyturtle]

32. Yes, that was definitely part of the reason SOME voted for Coleman.

However, the bigger part was Mondale....probably too old hat and very little time to mount any kind of campaign.

[minnesota_liberal]

25. Despite Coleman's voting record and misuse of his subcommittee position...

I can think of 4 reasons why Minnesotans might have still voted for Coleman over Franken:

1) They're straight-ticket simpletons who would vote for any idiot with an "(R)" after their name.

2) They buy Coleman's BS about "reaching across party lines" and "getting things done."

3) They're seriously put off by some of Franken's past writings or performances.

4) They can't fathom that anyone could make the jump from politically astute, Harvard-educated author and satirist to Senator.

[Frosty1]

29. Paul Wellstone's death 11 days before the election

Left most of Minnesota's DFL grieving and in shock. 11 days was not enough time to put forth a viable candidate for senate. A lot of the younger people were just plain tired of the Good old boy network which is how we got Ventura. Mondale was seen perhaps as part of that good old boy network.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

30. Keep in mind that absentee ballots for Wellstone cast before his death ...

... were still counted for Wellstone, not the DFL candidate running in his place. I don't know how many there were, but I do remember that reported in the time between Wellstone's death and the election.

[snappyturtle]

35. Oh right! I had forgotten that. nt

[snappyturtle]

34. I'd agree with your first three reasons but remember MN voted

a wrestler into the governor's mansion. But no matter what, REAL Democrats couldn't vote Coleman who has flip flopped his entire life with religion and political parties. He's a clown.

[Divernan]

21. Consider the article's reference to "exhausted election officials"

who entered the wrong amount. This is a common problem, and an excellent justification for demanding a recount of any close election anywhere in the country.

If Minnesota is like Pennsylvania, there are no shifts involved. I served as Judge of Elections at one voting place. My five person team was comprised of me, a Majority Inspector & clerk (both Dems) and a Minority Inspector and clerk (both GOP). We had to be there for set up at 6 am. The polls closed at 8 pm (and would have had to stay open longer if there had been voters waiting to vote at that time).

My Dem majority inspector was a 79 year old woman. My Dem clerk was paraplegic/wheel chair bound. We had all gotten up by 5 am latest. We had a record turnout so had been working our butts off for 15 hours at the time we had to start downloading and printing data and filling out and signing 12 different forms and placing various copies of each in multiple envelopes. Then we had to close out, take down and reseal the voting machines, retrieve all the info taped on the walls, put away tables and chairs, etc. Then I had to load everything into my car and drive down unmarked, unlit back country roads at 10 pm to turn in everything to a regional collecting center. I got home around 11 p.m., making for an 18 hour day for me (senior citizen). I also had taken 5 hours of training/2 sessions the week before. Adding in my travel time to the training center would make that 8 hours. For this 26 hours,plus mileage, I will eventually be paid $150, i.e,. $5.76/per hour. That will be taxable income, so my net will be even less. My feet, ankles and back started hurting about noon on election day, and 2 days later, I am still in pain. Obviously, I didn't do this for the money. I volunteered to fill this slot in another community - not my own - because it is primarily black, and I wanted to make sure there were no GOP jerks hassling people, trying to keep them from voting.

We had to do the most sensitive, complex work of retrieving and transcribing the voting records from the machines at a time when we were totally exhausted, both mentally and physically. My point? The system stinks & needs reform. Every state should have at least two weeks of open voting. This means training and hiring a lot more temporary help for poll workers, which will add to county budgets. So the counties are not going to improve the system voluntarily. As citizens, we have to demand this from our elected officials.

[minnesota_liberal]

24. That's fewer than 3 votes per county

Meanwhile, Norm calls the election for himself (how convenient!), states (in his Elmer Fudd voice) that it's "extremely, extremely, extremely" unlikely that the final result will change and claims that if he were in Franken's position he'd cancel the recount.

I didn't think it was possible to despise Normie any more than I already did, but I was wrong.

[calmblueocean]

38. I know. His position here is laughable.

I have to admit, I would love nothing more than if Al Franken pulled ahead in this final count before certification, so he could say to Norm, "Well, I guess you'll be passing on that recount then, right?"

It will be a real tragedy if Al doesn't make it to the Senate because Barkley ran a spoiler campaign, and we end up with 6 more years of Norm.

[calmblueocean]

37. It's a 221 vote deficit right now.

It doesn't look like we're going to see Franken pull ahead in this final count before certification. It's still possible the hand count may do it, though.