More than two months after the election, the undecided Minnesota Senate race appears headed for the courtroom.
Democrat Al Franken currently has a slight lead over Norm Coleman, the Republican incumbent, with nearly all of the counting in Minnesota's Senate race done. If the State Canvassing Board officially declares Franken the winner on Tuesday, Coleman's campaign is likely to challenge the outcome in court. Meantime, the accuracy of the recount remains in doubt. The Minnesota Supreme Court recently ruled that votes the Coleman campaign claims might have been counted twice should be included in the recount. But the court also said Coleman could file a lawsuit on the matter later. Brian Darling, director of Senate relations for the Heritage Foundation, says there may be some credence to Coleman's claim of double counting. "It is possible for ballots to be counted twice if ballots that were already counted are challenged to see if they have been counted," says Darling. "In other words, it's possible for Senate ballots to be cast for a candidate if both camps aren't sure whether they were counted or not," he continues. "So if they are contested, one party would ask that those ballots be studied to see if there was a mark on it for a candidate and they would try and have them counted in essence again. "So it is possible for a contested ballot -- if there's no way to way to know if it's already been counted -- to be counted a second time." Darling says the Senate is likely to seat Franken if the Canvassing Board declares him the winner, despite the contest being in legal limbo.
If you believe OneNewsNow.com is an important source for Christian news, please consider a small tax-deductible gift for this service.
