The recount in Minnesota’s Coleman-Franken Senate race is underway; today, Franken gained a net 28 votes in Democratic St. Louis County. The gain was attributed to older voting machines that failed to read faint pencil marks. A Republican spokesman said he was relieved that Franken’s gain wasn’t greater.
In general, not many ballots were challenged today by either side. This is an example, though, of how far the Franken camp is willing to go:
Franken argued that this ballot shouldn’t be counted because it doesn’t indicate a clear intent to vote for Coleman. Keep this in mind next time you hear a Democrat say that he wants to “count every vote.” I’m pretty sure Franken will lose that one, but I remain deeply concerned about the outcome of the recount. This isn’t because I mistrust the people who will make the ultimate decision, the members of the state’s Canvassing Board: on the contrary, I know several members of that group and its integrity is beyond question. My real concern is that the DFL party, Al Franken and ACORN facilitated enough illegal votes being cast on November 4 that a few legitimate changes, at this point, could put Franken over the top.
UPDATE: More here.
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