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Al Franken Moves Closer to Congress
December 30, 2008 2:23 PM
ABC News' Karen Travers Reports: Entertainer Al Franken may be getting closer to one of the most hotly contested Senate seats in the U.S.
The Democrat gained a 50 vote lead over Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in Minnesota's Senate race after the state's Canvassing Board finalized its allocation report of about 5,000 challenged ballots.
However, no winner is expected until at least next week.
"Today, the state canvassing board completed an important step in this process," Franken said in a statement. "I'm glad to be ahead, and as it appears that we're on track to win, I want Minnesotans to know that I'm ready to get to work for them in Washington on Day One. We still need to ensure that Minnesotans whose absentee ballots were improperly rejected aren't disenfranchised, but we are close to the finish line. And we should all be proud of our state's electoral process, and grateful for the dedication of our public servants, from the state canvassing board down to elections officials at the local level."
Even though the end to the long race is in sight, the issue of rejected absentee ballots remains. Last week, the Minnesota Supreme Court ordered the two campaigns, the counties, and the Secretary of State's office to come up with an agreed-upon process to count about 1,350 unopened absentee ballots that all participants agree were improperly rejected. The court extended the deadline for this process, giving local election officials and the two campaigns until Jan. 4, 2009. The Canvassing Board will meet on this issue next Monday, Jan. 5.
The two campaigns have been bickering since last week over how many of those 1,350 ballots should be considered for the final vote tally. The Franken campaign wants to add all of those votes and the Coleman campaign wants only a fraction of that pile, plus an additional 650 new ballots added in.
Campaign lawyers met with officials from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office yesterday and could not come to an agreement on which ballots will be opened and how many should be under consideration for inclusion in the vote total.
Starting today, there will be a series of regional meetings taking place across the state where local officials will present the rejected ballots and the campaigns will decide if they should count. This process can continue through Jan. 4.
The Coleman campaign did not make a statement.
December 30, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (73)
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Imagine - a pant load like Al-never was funny- Franken in the Senate. We've gone over the edge as a responsible nation. That costic bag of gas couldn't even keep his own moronic radio show - and now he's got one foot on the Senate floor of the United States. I must be living in a parrallel universe.
Posted by: Chas | Dec 30, 2008 3:03:15 PM
Imagine - a pant load like Al-never was funny- Franken in the Senate. We've gone over the edge as a responsible nation. That costic bag of gas couldn't even keep his own moronic radio show - and now he's got one foot on the Senate floor of the United States. I must be living in a parrallel universe.
Posted by: Chas | Dec 30, 2008 3:03:15 PM
==========================
If what you say is true, what does that say for the Republican brand? What does that say about Coleman?
When will that light come on GOP?
Take you time guys..... You got at least 12 years of political timeout to regroup and become a viable party again.
Posted by: Omentum | Dec 30, 2008 3:21:17 PM
I hope that Franken wins this race and is installed in the senate. This country has been pursuing failed ploicies under Bush and Coleman, and Franken will help to reverse those ploicies.
Posted by: Brother Bill | Dec 30, 2008 3:24:57 PM
Omentum - this says more about the Democrats than it could ever say about the Republicans. Al-never funny - Franken: The Democrats love this guy. It speaks to us a nation and it doesn't sound good.
Posted by: Chas | Dec 30, 2008 3:28:30 PM
Brother Bill - you're joking right? That's a joke. May another Republican never win another race - BUT that doesn't mean that a mean spirited bag of gas like Al Franken should walk the Senate floor. I am sorry, the Democrats can and should do better than this farce.
Posted by: Chas | Dec 30, 2008 3:30:59 PM
Coleman is a "chicken hawk" warmonger. And Franken is a slimy LA retread and falure as a political and radio commentator. I weep for the citizens of Minnesota, should either of these inept errand boys for the politcal elite adminster policy in their name only and NOT in their peoples interest.
Posted by: please! | Dec 30, 2008 3:31:41 PM
Give em hell, Al............
Posted by: JR | Dec 30, 2008 3:36:05 PM
Al Franken...well...now Barney Frank will have finally have someone who sounds more stupid than he does in the congress!
Franken will be ready on Day One alright....he will purpose that that we surrender and ask for mercy in both Iraq & Afganistan!
Posted by: Mike_C | Dec 30, 2008 3:43:01 PM
I have read several of soon to be Senator Franken's books and I find his ideas about where our country has gone wrong to be well reasoned. Unlike our current president, he is capable of writing a coherent sentence, and I'm confident that he would not involve us in another needless middle-eastern war.
Posted by: Brother Bill | Dec 30, 2008 3:47:09 PM
Wow! What deep insight on Minnesota politics. Now explain to your readers why the Dems chose a 1/2 rate 'comedian' over all the respectable blacks, asians and hispanics in the state
Posted by: Tor | Dec 30, 2008 3:54:11 PM
Coleman is an opportunistic turncoat who had served as Democratic mayor of St. Paul and Bill Clinton's state campaign chair. Franken can be caustic but is a thinker as well. Minnesota already has one member of congress who is both caustic and obnoxious--Michelle Bachman who happens to be a Republican. I always wonder if this would have turned out differently if Minnesotans could vote a straight ticket which is apparently not the case from examination of the ballots.
Posted by: bhciapol | Dec 30, 2008 3:58:08 PM
Hey, come on now. This "Al" fellow at least has more experience than Palin, right? If it was not so, the media would have told you. Just as they did about Palin. After all, the media really is fair and balanced, right?
Posted by: mojo | Dec 30, 2008 4:22:09 PM
How do Minnisotans feel about Hollywood money and George Soros (is he even an American?) buying your senate seat for an outsider. Will Franken represent you or his LA glitter-head buddies and his socialist multi-billionaire mentor/sponsor?
Posted by: justahousewife | Dec 30, 2008 4:24:56 PM
Yahoo Yah Looks like the Democrats will be getting another seat sweeeeeeeeeeeet the Republicans are dwindiling away yahooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: ANGIE | Dec 30, 2008 4:27:06 PM
How hard is this to understand?
IMPROPERLY REJECTED.
That means that the ballot was rejected for an incorrect reason and should have been counted.
So, why doesn't Coleman want them counted?
Coleman also wants additional ballots that were PROPERLY REJECTED to now be counted. If they were rejected in accordance with the law, why should they now count?
What is also interesting in all of this is that we don't know what the rejected ballots (improperly or properly) will show. So, they could give Coleman a lead after counting. I live in MN and voted for Coleman, but now wish I hadn't.
The way I see it now is that Franken has no reason to agree to allow them in -- except that he is an honest man who wants to count all legitimate votes. Coleman wants to cherry pick and make rules as he goes along.
Posted by: Jerry Johnson | Dec 30, 2008 4:34:10 PM
Omentum - this says more about the Democrats than it could ever say about the Republicans. Al-never funny - Franken: The Democrats love this guy. It speaks to us a nation and it doesn't sound good.
Posted by: Chas | Dec 30, 2008 3:28:30 PM
==================================
If they loved him he would have beat Coleman by comparable numbers as Obama beat McCain.
Obviously he was not loved as much, the fact that a COMEDIAN beats an INCUMBENT when Coleman should have won by a landslide should send off an alarm to the GOP.
Posted by: Omentum | Dec 30, 2008 4:42:46 PM
Senator Franken
Hannity and Rush is going to absolutely love this.
ahahahahahaha
Posted by: Omentum | Dec 30, 2008 4:44:54 PM
There was a third party Libertarian candidate running in the MN senate race who bled off votes from Coleman. Let that be a lesson to us all.
The counting process has become so convoluted with both candidates spinning out news stories that the truth of this election is totally lost. Run-off elections would be much more representative and less susceptible to manipulation.
Posted by: justahousewife | Dec 30, 2008 4:56:54 PM
Let's see the Dems can't win an election outright wo they have to stoop to trying to pervert the process. Al Gore did it as well as others. Al claims he wants to make sure that all votes get counted but the problem is he wants all votes to count for him. How this can hppen in America is beyond belief. Maybe we should have snet Jimmy Carter into Minnesota to oversee the lecetions. HA!
Posted by: Dems R Dumb | Dec 30, 2008 5:00:30 PM
I hope that Franken wins this race and is installed in the senate. This country has been pursuing failed ploicies under Bush and Coleman, and Franken will help to reverse those ploicies.
Posted by: Brother Bill
______________________________________
Let's see. Failed policies such as the Iraq War, which the Democrats VOTED FOR in 2002.
A recession which started when the Democrats controlled Congress for the last 2 years, in which Barney Frank and Chris Dodd directly controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which were the root cause of the recession.
Yes, I can certainly see how Al Franken and the Democrats offer real change for the better.
Posted by: marco | Dec 30, 2008 5:24:33 PM
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