Could comedian Al Franken deliver the poetic justice Democrats have longed for since 2000 by beating the sleazy Norm Coleman in an election recount? It really could happen, if you believe Franken's campaign:
Speaking to reporters in person and on phone, Marc Elias, the Franken campaign's chief counsel, said that the early recount results (which decreased the margin separating the Democratic challenger and Coleman by 43 votes) actually underestimated the ground gained. "We do in fact feel very good about how the first day of the recount went... We believe that through last night, 26.5 percent of the ballots were hand counted. And that represents slightly three percent more of the Coleman vote or Republican vote than was true during the election. And nevertheless we picked up a significant chunk of votes," said Elias. "In other words, the ballots counted yesterday were more Republican than the total ballot pool will end up being. It was a slightly redder pile versus what it will finally be. And not withstanding that slightly redder view, we picked up votes yesterday. In fact, we believe that number is higher than the 43 votes reflected on the Secretary of State's official margin."
If Franken does win, it will mean a hand recount, this time statewide (as it should have been in 2000) following an election certified with a margin of just a few hundred votes, was this time won by the guy named Al. Don't you just love poetry?
Labels: 2008 elections, Al Franken, Minnesota, news and politics, Norm Coleman, recount |
