Minnesota Recount Begins with Coleman Lead

Today the official recount begins in the Minnesota Senate race between incumbent Norm Coleman and challenger Al Franken. The recount was triggered by the narrowness of the margin between the two candidates on election night. The margin narrowed significantly, not to mention questionably, over the week and half following the election. Yesterday, the Canvassing Board officially certified Coleman as the winner by a margin of 215 votes, over the objections of the Franken team..

The recount can, and likely will continue through to the December 5th deadline. The hand recount will be a slow and painstaking process, in which 2.9 million ballots will be reviewed and recounted. Observers on behalf of each campaign have the opportunity to challenge any ballot and have it put before a panel of judges headed by the highly partisan Secretary of State Mark Richie.

Not included in the recount are a number of previously rejected absentee ballots, which Franken's lawyers claim were rejected on technicalities. The Coleman campaign is arguing that these ballots should be counted only in the event the result ends up in court, as is traditionally the way such things are handled.

When the recount is complete, the results will be handed over to Ritchie, and the disputed ballots will be reviewed by the Canvassing Board. Ritchie has set December 19th as the deadline for the final results.

The decision will be very important for the Senate. With Ted Stevens out and only two Senate races yet undecided, the size of the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill hangs in the balance. Whatever the outcome of the recount, considering the number of lawyers involved and the amount of questions emerging even before the recount begins, it wouldn't be a surprise to see this one end up in court in mid-December, particularly if Coleman wins. Al Franken has to have something to do with all those lawyers, after all.