Franken Is 'Likely to Win' Recount: Expert

It's getting to be a tradition

(AP) - Minnesota hit the reset button today in another close election as workers began the tedious task of reviewing more than 2.1 million ballots in the governor's race—one at a time and under the watchful gaze of lawyers for Democrat Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer. The recount follows on the heels 2008's Al Franken/Norm Coleman standoff. All sides say they're eager to button up this election sooner than that debacle, but given the stakes, no one is taking the recount lightly. More»

Alaska candidate should realize it's time to quit, former senator says

(NEWSER) - Norm Coleman knows a thing or two about fighting close elections, and he has a message for Joe Miller: Give up. "I think that race is over. I think the counting’s been done. I’m not sure there’s anything that would change that," the former Minnesota senator and fellow Republican—who lost his seat to Al Franken after a 7-month battle—told C-SPAN in an interview that will air this weekend. More»

Minnesota governor's race headed for recount

(NEWSER) - More than a week after America went to the polls, seven House races are still too close to call and two statewide elections are undecided. The results look certain to make the historic Republican win in the House even bigger, the Los Angeles Times notes, with Democratic candidates defending all seven districts and leading in just two—California's 11th and Kentucky's 6th. The differential is fewer than 700 votes in most races; a 10th race in North Carolina's 2nd has been called for the Republican, but a recount is expected. More»

Teams of lawyers, flacks ready to roll anywhere

(NEWSER) - With races from Alaska to Nevada to Florida looking to go down to the wire and beyond, Politico reports that both parties have been readying SWAT teams of lawyers, PR people, and political operatives for quick dispatch to any number of recounts. While recounts can drag on for months, experts say the real battle—including the PR battle—is often won within the first 48 hours, and Republicans in particular are learning the lesson of Norm Coleman: “A lot of people feel that the Coleman seat was lost in the hours after Election Day, not in the days and weeks after Election Day,” says an RNC spokesman. More»

First of all, if you don't have a lawyer ready ... it's too late

(NEWSER) - With at least six Senate races too close to call, and even more in the House, at least one recount is inevitable this Election Day. In the Washington Post , Jay Weiner offers up nine lessons from the high-profile recounts of 2000 (Bush-Gore) and 2008 (Franken-Coleman):

• Lawyer up—yesterday: Al Franken had a lawyer working on recount plans a month before the election. His trial lawyer also started preparing for legal proceedings months before Coleman’s—and Franken won the trial.
• Set money aside: Coleman and Franken likely spent a combined $20 million; for Bush and Gore, the total was $17 million. Know how you’re going to pay—in advance.