Minnesota Recount Goes into Overtime …Paul Hogarthbyline‚ Dec. 08‚ 2008If you thought we’d know the outcome of the Minnesota Senate race between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken by now, think again. The Secretary of State “finished” the hand recount on Friday, but a few matters remain that can truly alter the race. Senator Coleman’s lead shrank from 215 to 192 votes during the recount, but that doesn’t include the 6,000 “contested” ballots yet to be counted. Either campaign could “challenge” a ballot during the recount, and now it’s up to the State Canvassing Board to assess them one-by-one. Counties are still reviewing previously rejected absentee ballots to see if any were thrown out by accident, which may net up to 1,000 votes. And we also have 133 “missing” ballots in one (very liberal) precinct in Minneapolis. Assuming they never find the missing ballots, an appropriate remedy would be to include that precinct’s total from the initial machine count – because otherwise it may cost Franken the election. As tedious and frustrating as this sounds, I applaud Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie for diligently making sure every single vote gets counted – no matter how long it takes. The guy’s no Katherine Harris – which we should all be grateful for. |