Al Franken is now 2535 votes ahead of Coleman in MN Recount w/95.3% counted!

[pathansen]

See the Secretary of State most recent results at:
http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/20081104/SenateRecount.asp

As of 8:00 pm on 12/2/08:
RECOUNT Number of Ballots for Coleman (as recounted) 1119878 - 41.38%
RECOUNT Number of Ballots for Franken (as recounted) 1122413 - 41.47%

Less than 5% of the votes are left and there are still almost 6000 contested, challenged votes to be determined by the canvassing board.

FRANKEN IS WINNING!!

[nico818]

1. Gooo Franken! Bill O'Reilly will shit his pants.

[PinkyisBlue]

32. I'd love to see that! Al Franken is good enough, smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like him!

[kansasblue]

42. ha! cute. I can see him looking in his mirror as he says that.

[progressoid]

43. Not me. I don't want to see anything that has to do with O'Reilly's intimate bodily functions.

Now, his head exploding. THAT I'd like to see.

[RepublicanElephant]

2. what a difference paper ballots make!

:woohoo:

[Rhiannon12866]

3. Great news!!! Thanks! :D

Last I heard, Al was 300-some votes behind... :-( It just never dawned on me that he wouldn't beat Norm Coleman...:crazy:

[sohndrsmith]

4. Wow, yes - thanks pathansen... good job and great news!

(Edited because I spelled your name wrong... sorry!)

[political_Dem]

5. I just hope that this is the push that Franken needs to win the race.

I was feeling less than hopeful about the news earlier today. And now, this has given me a heads-up that things are changing for the better. Thanks for the update.

[enigmatic]

6. I Want to see Billo have to say "Senator Al Franken"

Pure Gold.

[beac]

7. Thanks for this great early-morning news!

I feel SO much better now-- after being depressed all evening that Saxby-the-Fondler got back in.

Al Franken-- he's good enough, he's smart enough and, gosh darn it, it appears that people REALLY DO like him!

I think I might just be able to get to sleep now.

[LisaL]

8. I don't think this partial count means anything.

There is no way Franken is thousands of votes ahead.

[pathansen]

9. This info came directly from Secretary of State's office

I understand that the larger precincts were the last to be counted and that several missing ballots favored Franken.

[HereSince1628]

15. The differences between the Sec State numbers and the campaigns

is because they are counting different sets of votes. Franken is not believed to be ahead by thousands in the total vote count.

[nyc 4 Biden]

24. I agree.

"I don't think this partial count means anything."

This number does not represent the changes from the recount, it only shows what has been counted so far. I wish it was accurate though.

[Sebastian Doyle]

10. If shit for brains Coleman is gone, that's a good thing

It's just too bad that Georgia's Diebold machines had to ruin the "Big" victory. :(

[BzaDem]

11. AL FRANKEN IS NOT WINNING. I'm sure this post was well-intentioned, but it is very misleading.

The Secretary of State's count does not take into account ANY ballots in the remaining 4.7% of precincts reporting. Even ballots that went through the machine fine and are not contested.

Let me put it this way. Let's say half the state geographically voted for Coleman and the other half voted for Franken. Then, you only recounted the Franken ballots. Your post here is like saying FRANKEN AHEAD OF COLEMAN BY 100%. Sure, it is possible that the remaining half of the votes that went for Coleman were all read wrong and that they all voted for Franken. But is it remotely likely?

The correct way to count is to take the total number of ballots that changed so far. And with that count, Coleman is still ahead by a few hundred, with several thousand challenges. So Franken can still win this, but it all depends on the challenges. Franken is not (as of now) several thousand ahead under any reasonable metric.

[lynne]

16. The SOS results are very confusing as written and are leading to incorrect assumptions -

- as they don't include the votes from the precincts yet to be recounted or the contested votes. The Star Tribune includes all votes with the exception of those contested and shows Coleman with a 303 lead. Two of the precincts to be counted today are large and went heavily republican based on the initial votes. The SOS figures are going to lead to a lot of confusion as these remaining precincts are counted and finally included.

[pathansen]

21. Also the Challenged, Contested votes of 6,000 could change things

[lojasmo]

44. He is now.

Franken up by 22 votes. My wife found 2 votes for franken today! That will make 24! Also!

[BlooInBloo]

55. Ah. There we go.

[ccharles000]

12. lovely

[ClayZ]

13. Wooooo Hoooo ! Go, Al Franken!

K and R

[druidity33]

14. NOT according to TPM or Huffpo... nt

[pathansen]

20. ?? These numbers came straight from the Secretary of State as of 8:00 pm last night

So I don't understand either why there are discrepancies.

[LisaL]

28. Because it's an incomplete count. It shouldn't be that hard to

figure it out.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. What?!

Where did those votes come from? Was someone holding out?

[mdmc]

18. AL!

[ddeclue]

19. Woo hoo!!!

:woohoo::applause::bounce::woohoo::applause::bounce::woohoo::applause::bounce:
:woohoo::applause::bounce::woohoo::applause::bounce::woohoo::applause::bounce:
:woohoo::applause::bounce::woohoo::applause::bounce::woohoo::applause::bounce:
:woohoo::applause::bounce::woohoo::applause::bounce::woohoo::applause::bounce:
:woohoo::applause::bounce::woohoo::applause::bounce::woohoo::applause::bounce:
:woohoo::applause::bounce::woohoo::applause::bounce::woohoo::applause::bounce:

[lojasmo]

22. Completely wrong.

Franken is 13 votes behind according to Team Franken's calculations

[FloridaGrl]

26. Why would the MN SOS have incorrect numbers? nt

[LisaL]

27. They are not incorrect. They are incomplete.

And don't mean anything right now. Franken is not ahead by thousands of votes.

[Thegonagle]

30. Exactly. Not wrong, just not done. The SOS data is very raw.

And the challenges still have to be decided. Those aren't included in the SOS numbers either. There will be more than 6000 total challenges going to the state canvassing board on the 16th, so the true results of the recount won't be known until after they adjourn.

Furthermore, I believe they're reviewing rejected absentee ballots to see if any were rejected without proper cause. (Out of 9000 or so rejected absentee ballots, I'd be astonished if more than few dozen are actually re-validated.) But if it's that close (and it might be), these could be the deciding factor.

[FloridaGrl]

36. But aren't these the tabulation so far?

I know it's an unofficial count but I take it as the updated results at the moment.

[Thegonagle]

39. That's the problem with the SOS data is that they reset the count

when the recount began.

Other sources, such as the local newspaper ( www.startribune.com ) have totals that update the machine count with the handcount data, and those sources show that Al Franken is still trailing.

[lojasmo]

37. They're counting only recount votes

The real count is orignal votes amended for recount numbers. Franken is behind by 13 votes according to team Franken.

[bdamomma]

23. Oh, I want him to win badly, we do not need Coleman there

in the Senate after the Chambliss win.

[usregimechange]

25. More importantly he is ahead with more of the challenges being made by Coleman

[nomaco-10]

29. LINK from 1 hour ago.... Should help to answer many questions....

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view/2008_12_03_Al_Franken_gets_bump_from_171_found_ballots/

[otohara]

40. This Is The # MSNBC Is Reporting 303 Coleman Lead

so I'm confused.

[Suji to Seoul]

57. Boston Herald = Boston's NY Post and Moonie Times. Please reference something legitimate.

I trust Faux Noise more than the BH, and I hate Faux Noise.

[Renew Deal]

31. Franken lost 2500 votes in the last 2% counted.

[defendandprotect]

53. Al would do Senate a world of good -- they'll fight this ...

and looks like Chambliss is a steal -- like to see a challenge there --

Well ...think this is too hard to believe so fingers crossed but not hopeful-

[Hepburn]

33. Oh, I am soooooooo hoping he wins! n/t

[WI_DEM]

34. The chances of Franken winning are not as good as it seems.

[AndrewP]

35. Franken is winning, but it's too early . That margin can dissapear in a minute

I'm just shutting off all of the other voter totals other than the SOS website. The recount is what counts.

But, as stated, there is still another 5 % to be counted, and they are Coleman areas as I'm led to understand.

Some of the counties didn't EVEN START counting until today.

We'll see how it ends up.

My $20 is that Coleman will end up getting the official decision, but I certainly hope that I am wrong.

[pleah]

38. Yeah!

:woohoo:

[weeve]

41. Am I misguided ?

I posted this in another Franken thread, but thought I'd add it here too, hoping for an expert to prove me wrong. Please tell me I'm wrong ?

-----


Granted I don't understand the different ways the numbers are being reported, but looking at the Star Tribune chart ( http://ww2.startribune.com/news/metro/elections/returns/2008/recount/msenco.html )of the four counties that recount today (Wed Dec. 3) Coleman really trounced Franken in the two big ones ( Scott and Wright counties ). In the original count he won those by about 27,000 votes. Factor that into the current SoS numbers posted ( where Franken is up by a few thousand ), and it looks like Coleman will come out far ahead bu the end of the day today. Even with the challenges and absentees, I don't see how Franken can make up ~ 25,000 ?!

Please someone, tell me I'm reading this all wrong ?

[sofa king]

45. I wish I could help you.

Truth be told, I've been avoiding this ongoing story. I can't help looking at it like it's some sort of Schroedinger's Cat. There is an outcome and, if the poll workers and observers do their jobs well, eventually we'll know what it is. But right now, it's sort of like having both outcomes at once--and the competing headlines here at DU seem to be suggesting just that.

But in this case, the cat isn't alive or dead or somewhere in between. In this case, once the box is opened, the cat is either funny, or it's an asshole.

Right now, it's one funny asshole of a cat.

[boppers]

48. ROFL at the cat reference.

That has to be one of the more amusing variations on the thought experiment I've seen.

"Is the cat alive or dead?"

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it has an asshole. It may, or may not, be funny, that has yet to be observed (and collapsed)"

[cynthia]

46. Franken is up by 11,170 votes! 98.7% counted

from the secretary of state website:


�Precincts Recounted:�98.67% (4075 of 4130) �Last update was: 12/3/2008 8:00:01 PM

RECOUNT Number of Ballots for Coleman (as recounted) 1174964 41.24
RECOUNT Number of Ballots for Franken (as recounted) 1186134 41.63



This is great news I've been waiting for a month to hear!

[Leo The Cleo]

47. Everybody loves a Star

This would be such a wonderful message. Al Franken is a stand up guy and if people need change that the kind of person they should ask for. I think he understands what most progressives understand. Economic, Political and Social Conservatism only leaves the country in debt, the people out of work, and the people at each others' throats. A win for Al Franken can help the country breath.

[ksimons]

49. Yipeee!!! 11,170 votes ahead!!! Go Al!!! We're with ya baby!!!

okay, I read about the discrepancy, but can't a girl scream a little excited-like every now and then?

[ksimons]

50. double-post

computers are doopid

[Stuart G]

51. Minn Star Tribne...Coleman 1,209.089 --Franken 1,208.773 who is right?

There is a difference in the number counted...Star Tribune and sec state...who is correct????

[Stuart G]

52. MSNBC says it will not be decided til Dec 16..here is link

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28032306/

[BlooInBloo]

54. For no rational reason, I find this unbelievable.

[MiniMe]

56. Latest count with 97.58% of ballots recounted, Franken still ahead

Precincts Recounted: 98.67% (4075 of 4130) Last update was: 12/3/2008 8:00:01 PM


Statewide Recount Results for US Senate Totals
Nov. 4 Ballots Cast for Norm Coleman 1177465
Nov. 4 Ballots Cast for Al Franken 1188736

Recounted Data Totals Percent
RECOUNT Number of Ballots for Coleman (as recounted) 1174964 41.24
RECOUNT Number of Ballots for Franken (as recounted) 1186134 41.63
RECOUNT Number of All Other Ballots (as recounted) 481922 16.91

RECOUNT COLEMAN and Other Ballots Challenged By FRANKEN 3085 0.11
RECOUNT FRANKEN and Other Ballots Challenged By COLEMAN 3241 0.11





Percentage of Ballots Recounted = 97.58 %

[MiniMe]

58. Coleman has rescinded his challenge on 650 ballots

This is after Frank has dropped his challenge on 633 ballots.

[ClarkUSA]

59. According to TIME, Coleman leads by 316 votes as of last night (Wednesday, 12/3).

Not sure who's right here... why does your count have Franken leading and TIME's The Page has Coleman leading?

Source: http://thepage.time.com/2008/12/04/franken-drops-some-ballot-challenges/

[truthisfreedom]

60. 98.67% of precincts counted now...

Nov. 4 Ballots Cast for Norm Coleman 1177465
Nov. 4 Ballots Cast for Al Franken 1188736

If I'm not mistaken, Al is now ahead over 11,000.