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Minnesota’s recount fiasco needs new solution

Other News Materials 29 December 2008 09:50 (UTC +04:00)

The Minnesota Senate race between Democratic comedian Al Franken and Republican incumbent Norm Coleman has turned toward Franken, Bloomberg reported.

Coleman won the original count by a scant 215 votes. An initial recount reduced that margin to 192. Now, the state's canvassing board, which is resolving the intent of disputed ballots, has given Franken a lead of 46 votes as of Dec. 19.

The counting is far from over, and disputes over election law nuances may linger into next summer. Still, it is looking more like the challenger will win.

A Franken victory isn't a threat to our democracy. It might not even be the incorrect outcome.

Yet any fair-minded person should be concerned about what's going on in Minnesota. Throughout the recount, the state's majority Democratic political machine has been grinding away in Franken's favor. From a dispute over double-counted ballots, to the treatment of rejected absentee forms, Coleman has lost every major dispute with Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a Democrat, and the state canvassing board, which is controlled by Democrats. Unsympathetic judges have rejected Coleman's appeals.

It's hard to imagine that Coleman is always wrong and Franken always right. So what is really going on in Minnesota?

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