Franken Increases Lead Over Coleman As Minnesota Recount Nears Finish Line

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Victory in Minnesota's drawn-out Senate race moved within Democrat Al Franken's grasp Saturday when he increased his lead over Republican Norm Coleman as the statewide recount drew to a close.

The state Canvassing Board will reconvene Monday to declare which candidate received the most overall votes in the election. Barring court intervention, it will be Franken.

Franken's lead now stands at 225 votes after gaining 176 votes more than Coleman in Saturday's review of the formerly sealed absentee ballots. Franken started the day with a 49-vote advantage.

The 933 absentee ballots were among those rejected by poll workers but later found to be excluded in error. The campaigns eventually agreed they should be added to the recount.

Unless Coleman wins a pending court petition that seeks to add hundreds more ballots to the recount, the counting is done and the Canvassing Board can sign off on the result on Monday or Tuesday. The result cannot be certified for at least one more week under state law.

"We are confident since there are no ballots left to count the final margin will stand with Al Franken having won the election by 225 votes," said Franken attorney Marc Elias.

The new total came on the day Coleman's term as senator officially expired.

Senate Republican leaders have said the chamber shouldn't seat Franken until all legal matters are settled, even if that drags on for months.

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Coleman's campaign has a pending request before the high court to include an additional 650 ballots that it said were improperly rejected but not forwarded by local officials to St. Paul for counting. The state Supreme Court has not said when it would rule in that case.

The Canvassing Board's declaration of the winner of the recount opens a seven-day window for the losing candidate to challenge the result in court. Such a lawsuit could take months to resolve and leave Minnesota with only one senator for the time being.

Coleman hasn't ruled out filing a lawsuit challenging the election result, claiming irregulaties gave Franken an unfair advantage. Coleman's lead lawyer, Fritz Knaak, said the campaign was almost certain to sue.

"Ultimately I believe it's going to be the senator's decision based on our recommendation," Knaak said. "At this point, my recommendation would be to move forward."

Franken's campaign has refused to outline its potential next steps.

Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said he doubted a lawsuit will get filed despite the tough talk.

"This is so accurate and has been done so carefully that the person with the least votes is going to say, 'I'm disappointed, I'm sad, but I came in short this time,'" he said.

Comments

[Querent]

CONGRATULATIONS SENATOR AL FRANKEN!!!!
Yours is the most karmicly satisfying win of the 2008 election. Except President-Elect Obama's, of course. Now go up to Washington and kick Republican ass! Kick it systematically, and thoroughly! Never forget that they tried to cheat you out of your seat. You owe those boys some serious grief, and now that you are going to be a US Senator, you will be fully empowered to inflict it.
Let the revels begin!

[luke150]

Another one that Nate Silver predicted right long time ago when Coleman was still ahead.

[booboo111]

Go Al, Go!

[arethusa]

Certain elements in the Republican party are desperate, so Coleman's actions are no surprise. They see good things coming and they want to obstruct the Obama administration in any way possible and by any means possible. These folks have been busy making insane arguments about the economy for the last 25 years. See where that led! Now they are tossing out red herrings: (1) Since FDR worsened the economy in the reconstruction efforts after the stock market crash of 1929, there should be no rescue package. (2) Bill Clinton, the Democrats, and/or, their favorite targets, either the poor or the few union members left in America have caused this recession. (3) Government is naturally bad and unnecessary, an argument that always seems to boil down to the idea that taxing the rich is bad. When will they give up their failed, miserable, stingy, twisted worldview? And their idea about government? I guess they thought that through dumbing government down, deficit spending, deregulation, tax cuts for the rich, they would succeed in making government as bad as they have argued it is. I wonder how they think the common good will be served--or perhaps they believe they can obtain their own drinking water, paved roads, schools. Al Franken, an intelligent man, can help restore integrity to our country, rebuild our ailing outmoded infrastructure, bring the best knowledge to bear on current problems, and reestablish a middle class for a strong America.

[lagumbo]

Another one the GOP couldn't steal. Did they think they would continue to get away with it. Chooper Coleman's official term has ended and good riddens. Now let him try to get out of his court troubles.
I hope he found guilty of everything that he is accused of doing and sent to gitmo, where all those
republicans belongs.

[ElPerro]

EXCELLENT!!

I see that the rightwingers, theocrats and general knuckle-draggers are losing what little minds they have over the prospect of Senator Al.

This is so sweet!

[ckfan]

Can't wait to see you here in DC, Al. Congrats.

[lylo]

I hope the Rethugs in Congress have some legal ground to stand on as far as refusing to seat an elected Senator.
So next time Mitch is elected, I can just keep suing him saying that there are more votes yet to be counted, and he will never be seated!!!!!

[DoomtoNeoCons]

Buh-Bye Choppers!

[kellygrrrl]

I hear Polident is looking for a new talking head

[RepublicanMicky]

Where's K. Harris when you need her???

[rizvisa1]

Out of job and out of favor with even republicans.

[DePereBoy]

In limbo, where she belongs.

[booboo111]

Having her 46th facial reconstrucyion.

[sockman]

Working on her make-up.

[JayeSF]

Mr. Ritchie said it best: the recount has been done SO thoroughly, and so much to the letter of the law and teh State Supreme courst's instructions....that a lawsuit would really be pointless other than just wasting time....which I wouldn't put past lil' normie to do since he has acted like a 2-year old since about, well...um...forever.

Congrats, Senator Franken. Well-deserved !

Bye, bye..lil' normie. You get what you deserve...finally, you rank amateur.

Kudos to the voters of Minnesota.

(And lastly, a big thumbs DOWN to Huffpost for their absence in coverage of what was going on in the past 24_ hours.

For chrissake...since September, you dedicate an entire section of the site to Al Franken...and then....on the most important day of the final vote tally...you guys go into hibernation. ???

I love this site, but at times there is some serious amnesia which goes on here. Tighten it up, eh ?)

[Bitsko]

Looks like Al Franken is finally going to be inducted into the Comedian's Hall of Fame, aka the U.S. Congress. Give 'em heck, Al!

[Big0725]

Taste the bitter fruit of defeat! Taste it and wretch at the flavor for the next few decades as we slowly disassemble the right wing machine.

[JamesR.]

Ferretface Coleman now has a reason to have a long face.

[booboo111]

Ferret face. Good one. I should have thought of it!

[freedomthrutruth]

Rest assured that one who has power is likely to do anything within their capacity to retain it, including an effort to create the appearance that 650 votes in Republican strongholds in the state of Minnesota were wrongly rejected. All those votes were rejected for at least one of the four reasons a vote can be deemed illegal in Minnesota, so such votes were not illegally rejected; they were instead legally rejected and therefore cannot be used as a basis for filing a court case, which merely constitutes a desperation effort to retain power. It suggests clearly that Coleman and his people are morally sick and that any court that goes along with these shenanigans may be equally morally ill.

[indypete]

"...so such votes were not illegally rejected; they were instead legally rejected and therefore cannot be used as a basis for filing a court case..."

Unless Norm does this.....

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll13/durablend/sally_girl_throw_tantrum_hg_clr.gif

[Ranta]

Mark Richie ran an above board recount. I can't believe he won't make a great candidate to run for Gov. in 10.

[ObamanextPresident]

Yeah! Send Pawlenty packing!

[chicagominx]

Yet another Republican crybaby.

[booboo111]

The Republicans now have about as much clout as the Whigs, or was it the Bull Moose Party. If they were smart, which they're not. They should rename themselves...The freedom party or something like that. Who's going to argue with freedom.

[RTIII]

There's already a party by that name...
.

[amorosotom]

The No Nothing Party.