All Blog Posts from Horserace

Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken's campaign says it may appeal to the U.S. Senate or the courts because it believes that up to 1,000 absentee ballots were improperly disqualified in the state's recount of votes, The Hill reports.

"Wherever the numbers stand today…that number simply cannot be relevant if it does not include all the votes that were legally cast," Franken attorney Marc Elias said, according to the newspaper. "No recount can be considered accurate or complete until all the ballots cast by lawful voters are counted."

Franken trails Republican rival Norm Coleman by 282 votes with most of the vote counted, though his campaign claims the deficit has shrunk to 73 votes.

Read full post…

The Minnesota state canvassing board today voted unanimously to deny a request from Democrat Al Franken’s campaign to include absentee ballots which had bee rejected into its final recount tally. The move would seem to be a blow to Franken’s efforts, particularly since a judge in one county has allowed his campaign to gain access to the list of rejected voters already.

But, as the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, the canvassing board made clear that it’s decision was not a statement on the merits of Franken’s argument and that they expected that question to be settled in litigation, seemingly kicking the issue down the road.

Also in recount news, attorneys for Franken and Republican Senator Norm Coleman have indicated that may be able to reduce the number of ballots both sides have challenged during the process. That number currently stands at over 3,600 ballots.

The Minnesota state canvassing board today voted unanimously to deny a request from Democrat Al Franken’s campaign to include absentee ballots which had bee rejected into its final recount tally. The move would seem to be a blow to Franken’s efforts, particularly since a judge in one county has allowed his campaign to gain access to the list of rejected voters already.

But, as the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, the canvassing board made clear that it’s decision was not a statement on the merits of Franken’s argument and that they expected that question to be settled in litigation, seemingly kicking the issue down the road.

Also in recount news, attorneys for Franken and Republican Senator Norm Coleman have indicated that may be able to reduce the number of ballots both sides have challenged during the process. That number currently stands at over 3,600 ballots.

The Minnesota state canvassing board today voted unanimously to deny a request from Democrat Al Franken’s campaign to include absentee ballots which had bee rejected into its final recount tally. The move would seem to be a blow to Franken’s efforts, particularly since a judge in one county has allowed his campaign to gain access to the list of rejected voters already.

But, as the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, the canvassing board made clear that it’s decision was not a statement on the merits of Franken’s argument and that they expected that question to be settled in litigation, seemingly kicking the issue down the road.

Also in recount news, attorneys for Franken and Republican Senator Norm Coleman have indicated that may be able to reduce the number of ballots both sides have challenged during the process. That number currently stands at over 3,600 ballots.

After two days of counting and 46 percent of the ballots examined, Republican Senator Norm Coleman’s slim lead has gotten even slimmer. Coleman led Democrat Al Franken by 215 votes heading into the mandatory recount but after day two, that lead has slipped to just 136 votes, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

But the final result is almost certain to be decided by the state’s canvassing board, which will make the call on a growing list of disputed ballots by both sides. During the recount, representatives from both campaigns are allowed to challenge individual ballots for various reasons (such as a voter who failed to completely fill in the circle next to a candidate’s name or made some other technical error). The number of disputed ballots rose to 734 combined at the end of day two.

As if a 215 vote margin wasn’t close enough, the Minnesota Senate race between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken has gotten even closer after about 18 percent of the ballots counted in a mandatory recount, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

After the first day of counting, Coleman’s lead going into the recount slipped to just 174 votes. Observers for both campaigns are on hand for the recount and are allowed to challenge questionable ballots. It’s those challenges which could be a deciding factor in the ultimate outcome of the race. Ballots challenged by either campaign are set aside until the middle of December when the state canvassing board will look at each individually. So far, a total of 269 votes have been challenged, 146 by Coleman’s representatives and 123 by Franken’s.

A Minnesota judge has granted a request by Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken to release the names and information of voters whose absentee ballots were rejected in the initial count in the state, the AP reports. Franken, who trailed incumbent Republican Norm Coleman by just 215 votes heading into the state’s mandatory recount, had requested the information in hopes of determining whether the votes were disqualified properly. The ruling applies only to one county but could set a precedent for others. The statewide recount got underway today.

Comedian-turned-activist Al Franken will travel to Washington, DC Tuesday to meet with Democratic Senate leaders as he awaits the outcome of a mandatory recount in his bid to unseat Senator Norm Coleman who currently holds a 206-vote lead pending the results. Coleman spokesman Mark Drake told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that is “highly presumptuous for Mr. Franken to undertake such a visit when his real purpose appears to be fundraising and gaining partisan advantage from non-Minnesotans.”

Franken spokesperson Colleen Murray said Franken, who is skipping an orientation session, is only trying hit the ground running should he prevail. “If he should win this election, it would be irresponsible for him not to get ready to take office,” Murray said. “Minnesota deserves a senator who is ready to take office on Day One.”

Read full post…

Hillary Clinton has sent a fundraising email out through her political action committee on behalf of Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken, whose electoral battle against rival Norm Coleman is headed for a recount.

"Just 206 votes," the email opens. "That's the difference separating Al Franken and Norm Coleman in the Minnesota Senate race -- 206 votes out of about 3 million cast."

"In the coming days, Minnesota officials will carefully count every vote to make sure they get the most accurate count possible," the email continues. "But once again, Republicans want to interfere any way they can with the vote-counting. They're setting up legal challenges and questioning the voting officials' integrity."

The email goes on to request donations to Franken's campaign to "make sure every vote is counted."

Democrats now effectively control 57 Senate seats. If this race, along with the other two outstanding contests in Alaska and Georgia, goes their way, they will have the 60 votes necessary for a filibuster-proof majority.

Election Day may have come and gone, but three Senate races are still being fought, and fought hard. If all three go the Democrats' way – an unlikely outcome, but certainly not an impossible one – it would give the party 60 seats in the Senate, a crucial number since it would mean Democrats have attained a filibuster-proof majority.

(One cautionary note for hopeful liberals: Even if Democrats reach the 60 seat threshold, their majority would include independent senator and John McCain backer Joe Lieberman, who has broken with his party on national security issues, as well as other relatively conservative Democrats who might not always vote with their party.)

Here's the latest on the three races.

Alaska:

For a while, it looked like 84-year-old Republican Ted Stevens had overcome his felony conviction to be reelected for an eigth term. But early and absentee ballots, which are still being counted, have now given a slim lead to Stevens' Democratic rival, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, who says he is "cautiously optimistic" that he will prevail. (The latest count, as of late Wednesday: 132,196 to 131,382. A Stevens pollster reportedly suggested Thursday that Begich will prevail.)

If Stevens ultimately wins the race, he still faces the possibility of expulsion from the Senate due to his conviction. If that happens, there will be a special election in Alaska to replace the longtime Senator, and all eyes will be on former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a potential candidate.

Read full post…