Minn. Board Can't Keep Up With New Ballot Challenges

Minn. board faces new hurdles as it resolves disputes in Senate race

(NEWSER) - The Minnesota Senate recount is moving at a one-step-forward, two-steps-back pace, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports, with Republican Norm Coleman’s campaign saying 150 ballots were double-counted, and that the total tally needs to be adjusted by the Canvassing Board. The board, which is in the process of evaluating disputed ballots, says it doesn’t necessarily have the authority to judge Coleman’s claim. More»

(NEWSER) - The Minnesota recount will not be complete until next year and could be continuing even as the new Senate is sworn in, Minnesota Public Radio reports. A plan agreed to by both the Coleman and Franken camps has the secretary of state counting wrongly rejected absentee ballots by January 4, after which both candidates can appeal to the Canvassing Board. The Senate is sworn in January 6. More»

Court, Canvassing Board could shrink Coleman lead

(NEWSER) - Minnesota’s hotly contested Senate race now hinges on two fast-approaching decisions: a state Supreme Court ruling on standards for counting mistakenly rejected ballots (arguments to be heard tomorrow), and the Canvassing Board’s decision on the number of challenged ballots to be officially counted (review begins today). Republican incumbent Norm Coleman’s 192-vote lead over Al Franken is likely to shrink as the matters are finalized, Politico reports. More»

Ballot challenges will take a month to decide

(NEWSER) - The marathon recount in the Senate race in Minnesota is crawling toward a resolution with incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman still ahead of comedian-writer Al Franken by an estimated 210 votes out of 2.9 million ballots cast. The process has been further complicated as the number of ballots challenged by the candidates surged yesterday to 3,000, and those disputes won't be decided for another month, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. More»

Dem gains some 90 votes in rejected-ballot count

(NEWSER) - As election officials in Minnesota tallied up some 350 previously-rejected Senate ballots today, Al Franken stretched out his lead over Norm Coleman by almost 90 votes, making it more than 312, the Star Tribune reports. That’s good news for Franken in Coleman’s lawsuit over the election, which a lawyer said today he'll appeal to the state Supreme Court. Coleman intends to argue that ballots weren’t treated equally. More»