Coleman Questions Vote Changes(WAHWAH, Franken Only 238 Votes Behind)

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ST. PAUL – U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman demands election data from county and state officials, his campaign wondering why vote totals are changing following Tuesday's election.

The campaign especially was concerned about changes on northeast Minnesota's Iron Range in the close U.S. Senate race, headed toward a mandatory hand recount of each of the 2.9 million ballots.

At 5 p.m. Friday, Republican Coleman had 1,211,542 votes, and Democrat Al Franken 1,211,304. The vote totals frequently have changed since votes originally were recorded, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said, because election workers in the state's 4,130 precincts have corrected small mistakes as they went over their paperwork.

At one point early Wednesday, Ritchie's office reported Coleman leading by more than 700 votes. That shrunk to the 238 margin Friday afternoon and Ritchie said it could continue to change through Monday, when each county must finish its initial corrections.

Ritchie said he expects the statewide recount to begin on Nov. 19. He said he hopes the state Canvassing Board can begin meeting on Dec. 16 and settle the election a few days later.

After the state board makes its decision, or maybe earlier, courts could become involved.

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