Norm Coleman, strident drama queen

[marmar]

from the MSP Star-Trib:



Tension escalates as recount fluctuates
As Norm Coleman's lead over Al Franken was cut to 221 votes, charges flew as fast as the tally changed.

By MARK BRUNSWICK, Star Tribune

Last update: November 7, 2008 - 9:59 PM


A tiny town in the Democratic stronghold of Minnesota's Iron Range emerged Friday as the latest battleground over the state's disputed U.S. Senate race.

Democrat Al Franken gained 100 votes there between election night and when results were officially tallied on Thursday.

Adding to the intrigue -- and suspicion in Sen. Norm Coleman's camp: The time stamp on the official tape printed out by a ballot machine in the precinct in question carried a date of Nov. 2, two days before the election.

Election officials in Mountain Iron, Minn., and St. Louis County said Friday they are confident the final vote totals were correct. They chalked up the time-stamp discrepancy to a voting machine whose clock may have been improperly set or been running low on batteries.

In the midst of the unresolved election -- the tightest U.S. Senate race in Minnesota history, with a recount in the offing -- the Mountain Iron confusion is the latest wrinkle. The difference between Coleman and Franken, which stood at 725 votes in Coleman's favor Wednesday morning, has changed several times since then as county officials have checked results, and was 221 by Friday evening.

An election night worksheet from St. Louis County showed Franken with 406 votes from Precinct 1 in Mountain Iron. The revised totals Thursday night showed him with 506. Similarly, the vote total for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama increased from 469 to 569 when the final tallies were completed. Both Democrats won the precinct by a ratio of more than 2-to-1.

"Obviously, this is highly suspicious. They found 100 votes, and it's statistically impossible that all 100 votes went to the two Democrats, even in St. Louis County," said Cullen Sheehan, Coleman's campaign manager.

The Coleman campaign, questioning "improbable and statistically dubious chunks of votes appear and disappear," sent letters Friday afternoon asking for records on ballot security and on any revisions of election night vote totals to the Minnesota Secretary of State's office and to each of the state's county auditors. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/34024274.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUX

[MNBrewer]

1. Norm needs to CHILL OUT!

Even the larger, original vote gap was well within the margin by which state election law calls for a recount. Let the votes be counted, and then, no matter who comes out ahead, we'll at least know that the election was counted fairly and accurately.

There's NO rush on this.