Recount recap: Day 2 meant more contested ballots
Norm Coleman's and Al Franken's representatives at the recount sites are finally learning how to play the game. What's the best strategy? Contest every ballot you can for really ridiculous reasons. A random small dot? Or how about a little line on the BACK of the ballot? Oh this is silly.
Here is your recap of Day 2 so you are ready for Day 3.
After Day 2, 46 percent of the 2.9 million ballots were counted and Coleman's lead continues to shrink. Coleman now leads by 136 votes, down from 215 before the recount started, according to the Star Tribune.
The Pioneer Press says the gap is 129 votes. Franken's reps have challenged 374 ballots and Coleman's have challenged 360.
Just as a warning: It's hard to say these numbers mean anything as they could fluctuate wildly in the next couple days as more precincts are recounted.
Minnesota Independent tabulated out the challenged votes to estimate that the state is on pace to top 1,700 challenged.
What are the candidates challenging? Take a look at the ridiculous challenges at the Pioneer Press.
Coleman has decided to make the recount more exciting by relating it to hockey. He did bring hockey back to Minnesota, dontcha know?
From the Weekly Standard:
Coleman estimates that as of now he's ahead by roughly 170 votes. Many of the big Republican counties have not yet conducted their recounts, according to Coleman. The Minnesota senator sounded upbeat about victory at the end of the day and concluded with a fitting hockey metaphor: "We're on the ice and its time to put the puck in the net."
Now this recount is going to piss off other Senators too. They have to wait longer for new office spaces, according to CQ. After elections, senior Senators get first pick for the best office spaces on The Hill.
The Wall Street Journal is stirring up some controversy with their latest piece on Franken. They continued to spew the "ballots in the car" story which is not true. How many times does the media have to correct other journalists? They are also pushing the Franking "stealing" the election story, while even Republicans, such as Gov. Tim Pawlenty have expressed confidence in the recount system.
Al Franken's campaign takes exception to our recent description of the curious goings-on in Minnesota's Senate vote count. We're delighted to hear his growing vote total is all routine. But who needs to worry about votes discovered in a car when the Franken campaign is now suing in court to steal the election?
And the ultimate lie of the day? Fox News says Secretary of State Mark Ritchie is a "former communist".
From Media Matters:
NAPOLITANO: Well, the governor appoints a committee of four people: two Republican judges, two Democratic judges. The fifth member of the committee, by statute, is the secretary of state, who is a Democrat and a former communist -- former member of the Communist Party.
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