MN Sen Recount (UPDATE: Stuart Smalley certified winner, lawsuit forthcoming)

[Lief 🗽]

So the odds are pretty strong at this point that whoever wins wins with less than 100 votes, right? Because that's awesome.

[Lief 🗽]

StarTrib says 136

They appear to be ahead of the SoS right now, so this is the most current number.

How does a newspaper get the results before the agency in charge of counting the results?

[Lief 🗽]

Sam, I don't know why you are even bothering with this.  The great Nate Silver has already said Frankin wins by 27 votes.  Therefore, it's over.  Coleman should concede immediately.

False.

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[Lief 🗽]

Probably someone pissed about a ruling the judge made.

This brought up an interesting question: Does it count as identifying the ballot if someone writes themselves in for all the minor offices? (As many have done. Almost all Coleman supporters interestingly.)

The Franken campaign has argued this but I remember reading that the judges generally feel that it's not sufficient proof (you and your friend might agree to write your friend in for everything or you might be writing in your sixth grade teacher)

I tend to agree with the judges (ignoring statute for a moment).

Your ballot should not be thrown out simply because you have the gall to write in your own name or someone else you know for a position where you don't like the alternatives.  Maybe it would be different if the ovals weren't colored in, but I still think it's not a reason for disqualification.  Keep in mind the "Lizard People". 

One of the things that most annoys me with the lever system in New York is how difficult it is to write-in a name for a spot.  I so wanted to vote for "Daniel Patrick Moynihan" in the NY Senate race in 2006, but it requires filling out a separate card and some other procedure, which is useless.

At least you have the option of writing in candidates in New York. Stupid Texas.

[Lief 🗽]

Probably someone pissed about a ruling the judge made.

This brought up an interesting question: Does it count as identifying the ballot if someone writes themselves in for all the minor offices? (As many have done. Almost all Coleman supporters interestingly.)

The Franken campaign has argued this but I remember reading that the judges generally feel that it's not sufficient proof (you and your friend might agree to write your friend in for everything or you might be writing in your sixth grade teacher)

I tend to agree with the judges (ignoring statute for a moment).

Your ballot should not be thrown out simply because you have the gall to write in your own name or someone else you know for a position where you don't like the alternatives.  Maybe it would be different if the ovals weren't colored in, but I still think it's not a reason for disqualification.  Keep in mind the "Lizard People". 

One of the things that most annoys me with the lever system in New York is how difficult it is to write-in a name for a spot.  I so wanted to vote for "Daniel Patrick Moynihan" in the NY Senate race in 2006, but it requires filling out a separate card and some other procedure, which is useless.

At least you have the option of writing in candidates in New York. Stupid Texas.

I thought they had that silly system where you move a dial to enter letters (remember Sekula-Gibbs?).  Or maybe that was just Harris/Fort Bend County

I think they only let you write-in candidates if someone declares as a write-in candidate after the deadline to get your name on the ballot (or if you didn't get enough signatures or something). So, in races without declared write-in candidates (which was everything but President this year), you can't do a write-in. Which meant I had to vote for some random Republican for some random judge because there was no Democrat.

[Lief 🗽]

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/franken_camps_claim_were_now_a.php

The Franken camp now says they're ahead by 22 votes.

[Lief 🗽]

Franken.

He voted Barkley (or Aldrich), changed his mind to Aldrich (or Barkley), then changed his mind a last time to Franken.

[Lief 🗽]

Franken.

He voted Barkley (or Aldrich), changed his mind to Aldrich (or Barkley), then changed his mind a last time to Franken.

Or maybe he marked his two preferences...

I mean, it's a Franken vote, but is it clear?

It's not 100% clear, but it's more likely a Franken vote than an Other vote. Whether that means it's 51% a Franken vote or 99% a Franken vote, and at what point the judge gets to give the vote to Franken between those two percentages, I don't know.

[Lief 🗽]

Here's another one of those Coleman challengers who belong in HELL:

http://senaterecount.startribune.com/media/ballotPDFs/Stearns_StWendelP2_challengedballot33.pdf

Wait, what? There's nothing unclear about that ballot at all.

[Lief 🗽]

Yeah, it's their fault that an election official improperly threw their vote out. They should just suck it up. It's not like they have a right to vote anyway.

[Lief 🗽]

Er... don't Republicans normally win absentee ballots?

[Lief 🗽]

They should be done for Friday.

And then the "loser" will sue!

[Lief 🗽]

Franken campaign declares victory by 35-50 votes

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http://www.senateguru.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=475

[Lief 🗽]

I think the idea that more than a handful of people are going to not vote for Democrats because the Senator from Minnesota is Al Franken is silly. No matter what, the Republicans are going to try and turn our politicians into boogeymen. We shouldn't surrender seats to them because we're scared they'll throw a fit. In two years, no one is going to care that Franken is the Senator from Minnesota instead of Coleman.

[Lief 🗽]

He'll be out of the Senate and in jail soon. Don't worry.

[Lief 🗽]

59.

[Lief 🗽]

I must say he was surprisingly calm, give than he decided to address it. This man absolutely loathes Franken. It goes back like 5-6 years.

Well, MN is on his "corruption watch" now. lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpOSgT-osHk

Bill: "Hey, SHUT UP. SHUT UP! You had your 35 minutes, SHUT UP."

Good times.