Al Franken closes the gap on Coleman
By John Amato Friday Dec 19, 2008 6:45am
In a ruling crucial to the disputed U.S. Senate election, the Minnesota Supreme Court Thursday rejected an attempt by incumbent Norm Coleman to block the state Canvassing Board from counting improperly rejected absentee ballots.
However, the court ruled that the campaigns of Coleman and Democrat Al Franken, along with Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and vote canvassing boards establish a uniform standard for identifying and counting such absentee ballots. The court said they should then be added to the tally
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The tight Minnesota U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken has become incredibly close — with Coleman clinging to a two-vote lead.
That's the latest tally after the state Canvassing Board spent a third day ruling on disputed ballots. There are hundreds of challenges yet to decide, as well as thousands of withdrawn challenges that have yet to be tallied.Coleman had entered Thursday's session leading Franken by 360 votes. But that lead eroded all day as the 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 The pile included a big chunk of withdrawn challenges, many of which went quickly to Franken's column.
Here's where it is now.
UPDATE: Franken takes a small lead!
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Franken's victory will drive the Cons to the brink of insanity....I LOVE IT!
SENATOR FRANKEN to come from those vile O'Reilly lips
You're giving Billo too much credit. He'll just refer to him as "Franken" or "Frankenstein" (simply because Billo lacks original thought), much in the same respect that many of us on this side can't bring ourselves to say "President Bush"... we just say "Bush" or "the president".
...that Al Frankin will have actually won in his election. The same can't be said for the criminal shrub.
As much as I would like to call those who I despise names, I was schooled to always address the subject with due deference and respect. Mr. O'Reilly missed out on learning about civics and civility because he was spending too much time having phone sex and figuring out new ways to use a loofah during sex.
the operative word being "due"
The Clown O'Really won't call Senator Franken by name. He usually just ignores him or calls him "Stewart Smalley."
I really hope Al wins this thing, not just because he's a better candidate, and not just because Coleman is an idiot. I hope he wins in order to piss the Clown O'Really off! I hope he wins in order to piss people like Coultergeist off....the other day, this witch was calling for him to stop contesting the race and give in to Coleman.
Go AL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like America treats some heads of states that vist??? Let's say Ahmedinejad? You treated him like a dog. Shame on you (the USA)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yay! Keeping fingers crossed.
You gotta hand it to Al Franken for not relenting. CNN is now reporting that Coleman is a mere 5 votes ahead. Coleman is corrupt. I wonder why Minnesotans even bothered voting for him.
You don't mess around with Vikings. They have their own beat and thought processes (this is the same place that elected a former pro wrestler/actor to the governorship.)
Wouldn't that make Franken a kosher Viking?
I think he's a pretty damn cool guy.
I'm just brought that up as an illustration as to why Minnesotans were bothered to vote for Coleman in the first place.
Minnesota just walks to the beat of a different drummer.
The same could be said for Alaska... must be all that cold weather.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU10TZs1ow0
But Minnesota usually marches to the intelligent drum. Alaska, not so much.
I will turn 100 next week, and it's great that me and this election will turn 100 the same year.
and show the world that we mean business.
...he's a smarmy, creepy guy - and it looks like he's got a little of that Ted Stevens' disease.
Besides, Al will bring not only his brain and his ideas for Minnesota and the country to the Senate - but a little humor as well. I think we'll need that in the next few years!
Because he's good enough, smart enough and gosh darn it, people like him.
Sounds homoerotic.
And the problem with that is..............?
Hey, democrats, see what happens when you don't just roll over?
The key here is the fact the state of Minnesota has strong set of rules and guidelines for election recounts. The electorate must be active in ensuring its own election integrity.
Most of us vote, but do we really pay attention to any challenge to the existing rules during elections or any other time of the year? If there were changes or challenges introduced in our state legislatures, would the media inform the voter about it? The cheaters never rest a day trying to figure out how rig the system, so the electorate cannot take the day off either. Be vigilant.
I can hardly think of a nicer Christmas gift to my fellow Minnesotans, having someone like Franken sitting in Wellstones seat in January. Although it's a slow process, and the Coleman camp has been trying everything they can to subvert the process, I am proud of the way our laws have been followed and legal votes counted accurately. I just wonder if Coleman will take his own advice and concede, saving those campaign dollars for his defense of his upcoming corruption charges or risk spending some of it on further court challenges.
I guess Coleman will be creating a new reality by now...
nt
It will be even sweeter to see Coleman join his buddy Ted Stevens in a 10x6 jail cell.
How long does it take to count 5,5000 ballots? Lickety split vote counters, I can't hold out for very much longer.
Hannity will be outraged at a 'stolen' election as he has been preaching.
I can hardly wait for the ramifications.
Who will clean up the mess after he explodes?
Al Franken should head the committee to reinstate the fairness doctrine. That would cause Insanity to have a heart attack!
wow, just a week ago, I was resigning myself to norm keeping his seat!
I recently moved back to the U.S. and I had the choice of voting absentee or registering in my new state. I chose the latter. I'm a Minnesota native and I voted in Kentucky.
I really didn't think it would be this close. I cannot express how guilty I feel for not voting Minnesotan.
If Al loses by a vote, I just don't know what I'll do. Honestly.
Late Friday morning, the newspaper's tally put Franken ahead by 102 votes. Coleman's lead had fallen to single digits Thursday evening.
The important thing here is WHY Franken is now ahead slightly after it appeared for weeks that Coleman had the lead. And the obvious answer is that Coleman challenged hundreds of votes for Franken with no grounds whatsoever for doing so. So once those challenged ballots were examined LOTS of them went to Franken (which they should have to begin with of course.) In contrast the ballots Franken challenged were for legitimate causes, so when examined fewer of them ended up in Coleman's column. This is obvious if you click through to the Minnesota newspaper that posts the ballots in PDF format, along with the reasons they were challenged.
My point being: Coleman is a lying sack of shit. But that's a redundancy since I assume you all knew that he was the Republican candidate.
How hard can it be? You count all the votes and tally. The end. Every vote counts. It's OK if the flying spaghetti monster got a few.
If you're going to worship (or vote for) The Flying Spaghetti Monster, please learn how to spell his name. Thank you.
PS: Yay, Franken!
I prefer the vote scanning machines Minnesota uses because they are easily maintained and make it extremely difficult to hack or sabotage. However, I have noticed over the last few elections that black ballpoint pens are handed out to mark the ballots. If you happen to mark the wrong bubble or if there is any stray mark in the section you are voting, the vote will not get counted because the machine will not count it. (not sure why pencil cannot be used since the machines scan the votes going into the machines to prevent tampering later)
Minnesota needs to come up with a way correct an error the person voting might have made. Maybe include a section that would allow for a correction and configure the machine so that it can read and record this without rejecting the ballot.
The directions to filling out the ballot are as simple as can be, so I don't know what the remedy is for thos people who don't follow instructions. I guess Minnesota public television could have some commercial or add demonstrating how to it everyday a month prior to the election. People would get sick of seeing or hearing about the commercial, but this is the point to get people to do it right.
Hell YEA, Go AL!
I've been pulling for you since you announced, and you know I got your back. I and millions of Americans who voted for Obama have been supporters of you from day numero uno
I very much want Franken to win this, and it's far more important to me than which preachers get the microphone at the inauguration.
I very much want Franken to win, though I wonder why no one has ever questioned his qualifications to be Senator while they relentlessly attack Caroline Kennedy's alleged lack of qualifications? Why the sexist double standard?? What makes Franken so much more qualified to take a seat in the US Senate than Ms. Kennedy?
Franken wrote two very good political books, and there was his experience on Air America Radio. In all three cases, he consistently showed the ability to do his homework, and articulate the important issues.
If you question Franken's qualifications, get a copy of Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, and read it.
And, if you're still in doubt, Al said on the air that Karl Rove should be tried for treason for outing Valerie Plame, and the penalty for treason is death.
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