Panel to declare Franken winner of Senate race

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- A state election board on Monday will announce Democrat Al Franken has defeated Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race, state officials told CNN Sunday.

The canvassing board on Monday will say a recount determined Franken won by 225 votes, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie told CNN.

However, Coleman's campaign, which contends the recount should have included about 650 absentee ballots it says were improperly rejected in the initial count, has indicated it will challenge the certification.

Coleman campaign manager Cullen Sheehan said his team believes the recount process was broken and that "the numbers being reported will not be accurate or valid."

"The effort by the Franken campaign, supported by the secretary of state, to exclude improperly rejected absentee ballots is indefensible and disenfranchises hundreds of Minnesota voters," Sheehan said.

After the results are certified, Coleman's campaign will have seven days to file a challenge.

The initial count from the November 4 election put Coleman, a first-term senator, 215 votes ahead of Franken -- known for his stint on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and as a former talk-show host on progressive radio network Air America.

CNN

I'm glad they finally straightened that mess out. Norm will repeal the ruling, I'm sure, but I don't think anything will come of it. Al Franken is on his way to the senate. Good luck to him. Now the Democrats are one seat short of having a filibuster and veto overriding majority. I am sure they can pick up one liberal Republican to help pass their agenda. And likewise, they have the moderate and conservative Democrats to worry about as well. Having a huge majority does not guarantee success on the senate floor.

Coleman's Lead Dwindles to 2 Votes in Minnesota Senate Race

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Sen. Norm Coleman saw his lead over Al Franken in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race dwindle to just two votes Thursday. Meanwhile, a key court ruling put hundreds of improperly rejected ballots in play and promised the recount would drag into the new year.

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that improperly rejected absentee ballots be included in the state's recount. It ordered the candidates to work with the Secretary of State and election officials to set up a process to identify ballots that were rejected in error. Counties must make a report by Dec. 31.

The ruling came as the state Canvassing Board nearly erased what had been a 360-vote lead for Coleman before the panel began its third day of reviewing disputed ballots Thursday. The Republican incumbent had a 215-vote lead over the Democrat Franken after the initial count of the Nov. 4 election.

There are hundreds of challenges yet to decide, thousands of withdrawn challenges that have yet to be tallied and now the improperly rejected absentee ballots, estimated to number around 1,600. Franken supported and Coleman opposed counting those absentees.

The Supreme Court said the candidates will have a chance to challenge the absentees as they are unsealed and counted, just as they did during the earlier hand recount.

Justice Alan Page dissented. He warned that giving the candidates a say in identifying the ballots was a mistake.

Coleman's lead eroded all day Thursday as the Canvassing Board considered a pile of challenges brought entirely by the Coleman campaign. The pile included a big chunk of withdrawn challenges, many of which went quickly to Franken's column.

Fox

Why don't they just quit this legal wrangling and hold a special election like they did in Georgia? We won't know who really won because of all this wrangling. The winner of this election will be determined by the Minnesota supreme court. I say let the Minnesotan people have their say, and vote again.

Amusing Ballots

It's been over two weeks since the election and there are some races still to be decided. The U.S. Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken in Minnesota is in a dead heat. There are many ballots that are being challenged by both parties.

Let's have a look at some of them, shall we?

I vote to reject this one since Minnesota state law states that "If a ballot is marked by distinguishing characteristics in a manner making it evident that the voter intended to identify the ballot, the entire ballot is defective."

This ballot clearly indicates that the voter intended to vote for Al Franken. I'll give this one to Franken.

This one goes to Norm Coleman. I don't care what anyone says. Those marks are nowhere near Al Franken's bubble.

I'll give this one to Coleman. The write-in isn't too legible. Who is Birdman? Or is it Bachmen?

Isn't this one interesting? It seems the voter started to vote for Franken and then later decided that Coleman would be a better choice. Is it clear as to who the person wants to vote for? I think not. Reject.

This one here is being challenged because the thumb print could be used to identify the voter and therefor should be automatically rejected. I'd let this one slide. I mean really, a thumb print?

This one clearly shows that the voter has no clue who he/she wants to vote for. Reject.


This voter says NO to Coleman but marks his bubble anyway. I vote to reject this one. It is not clear as to who this person wanted to vote for. I wonder what the IQ of this person is?

Isn't this fun?

This ballot shows a clear vote for Franken, but a preference for Lizard People. Who are the Lizard people? I'd give this one to Franken, wouldn't you?

Hmm, don't people know how to read instructions? Do they not see the bubbles beside the candidate's name? I didn't know that you had to be a rocket scientist to figure out how to fill out a ballot. As dumb as this person is, this does show a clear preference for Franken, so I will give it to him.

Coleman or Franken? Franken or Coleman? I don't know. Do you? I suppose the preference is for Coleman. Though I still think that if people can't follow the rules, their vote should not be counted, but in a close race like this each candidate needs every vote they can get. I'll go out on a limb here and give this to Coleman.

Why is this one even being contested? Because of one dot? Please. This one goes to Franken.

I don't know why this one is being contested either. The preference is surely for Barkley after considering Franken. This one goes to Barkley.

What was wrong with this person? How hard is it to select ONE name? It does show a preference for Barkley, but Barkley won't win anyway. Give it to Barkley.

Hmm. This one isn't too hard to figure out, is it? This person clearly doesn't want his/her vote to be counted. Reject.

I have to say, this was a lot of fun.

You can do this yourself by going here.