State Canvassing Board

“Heads Al Franken wins, tails Norm Coleman loses.” That’s the perspective of the Minnesota Senate recount Rep. Michele Bachmann shared on Fox & Friends this morning. She says “the law was not applied fairly. Norm Coleman, his legal team will be proved right. Once the law is applied fairly. If we get a fair judge, [...]

As his hope for re-election wanes, former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman hasn’t seen very much positive print in the last few days. But the Wall Street Journal editorial board came to the rescue on Monday with an opinion piece that attempts to paint Minnesota’s recount process as “funny business.”

At 2:30 p.m. CST today, Minnesota’s State Canvassing Board will meet to review the results of the statewide recount and, if all goes as expected, certify that Al Franken got more votes than Sen. Norm Coleman (Franken unofficially leads by 225 votes). The state Supreme Court refused to address a Coleman campaign motion that sought [...]

The UpTake is providing video from Tuesday’s meeting of the Minnesota State Canvassing Board as they continue to consider the statewide vote recount. Live feed begins at 8:45 a.m., after the jump.

Democrat Al Franken will not lose the lead he gained Friday in the Minnesota Senate recount, his campaign’s recount attorney said today. Franken’s margin over Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman will stand at between 35 and 50 votes next Tuesday, after the State Canvassing Board adds back thousands of withdrawn ballot challenges to its tally.

The pronouncement that Franken will soon be Minnesota’s senator-elect is not just the campaign talking; it’s the campaign’s math talking. Franken’s figures always “assumed those [challenged] ballots would end up in the tally of the candidate for whom each one was originally called,” as a campaign statement put it. “[T]he internal count can predict the result of that work with certainty: a 35-50 vote lead for Franken.”

The UpTake, live streaming Thursday’s Minnesota State Canvassing Board meeting on the U.S. Senate recount, featured a ballot cast for the candidate, Flying Spaghetti Monster. The Coleman campaign challenged the ballot because FSM was written in for Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor, although the oval beside Franken’s name was clearly filled in; the vote went to Franken. Moments earlier, the board reviewed the infamous vote cast for Lizard People. Minnesota’s most famous ballot was designated an overvote.

See the board’s discussion of the ballots and download a scan of the Flying Spaghetti Monster votes after the jump

Following Friday morning’s meeting of the Minnesota State Canvassing Board, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie answered questions from reporters about the ongoing statewide recount. Here are excerpts from the press conference.