Franken Gets A Boost
It was a good day for Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken, who is still embroiled in a drawn-out recount battle with Republican rival Norm Coleman.
The board also ruled that up to 1,500 absentee ballots rejected for something other than the four legally specified reasons be included in the count, a decision that the Coleman camp vowed to fight in court.
"It was a great day for democracy," Franken's attorney Marc Elias said, according to the AP.
Though the recount is over and Coleman has a slim lead, there is little clarity on who will ultimately win the seat. The formerly-rejected absentee ballots could favor either candidate – though the Franken camp certainly seems to see today's decision as a helpful one – and there remain about 4,200 ballots that are not included in the tally because they were challenged by one of the candidates.
The state Canvassing Board will begin examining those ballots Tuesday.