MINNEAPOLIS - Democrat Al Franken is poised to hold on to a 48-vote lead over Republican Sen. Norm Coleman as Minnesota's Canvassing Board awards a final pile of votes in the state's unsettled U.S. Senate race. But the counting isn't over yet.
The board on Tuesday is to award votes from about 5,000 challenges that had been withdrawn by both campaigns. Based on a draft report released late Monday by the Secretary of State's office, once those votes are awarded Franken will have 48 more votes than Coleman.
The two campaigns and the Secretary of State's office still have to agree how to handle an estimated 1,600 improperly rejected absentee ballots. And the state Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear arguments over a Coleman claim that some ballots were counted twice.
The Coleman campaign made the claim this afternoon to reporters that Coleman will regain the lead in the race if the court upholds their request to review the alleged "double-counted" ballots. In response, the Franken campaign said, "There is no evidence that any ballot has been counted twice. None."
Nevertheless, the Minnesota Supreme Court's decision about if or how to deal with the 130 ballots or so that were allegedly double-counted might actually be the deciding factor in this race.
Don't you just love it when the courts get the final say in a close election? Oh the memories...
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