Coleman / Franken Recount Overview: Republicans Are Doing What Republicans Do

[babylonsister]

Coleman / Franken Recount Overview: Republicans Are Doing What Republicans Do


Story Number One: It's an amazingly close election

The Franken-Coleman election is freakishly close. The first semi-official report showed a spread of 700 votes out of 2.9 million (less than three hundredths of a percent). One of my imaginary internet friends has calculated that flipping 2.9 million coins would come up with a heads-tails difference bigger than that 90% of the time. Un coup de des jamais n'abolira le hasard, they say, but apparently the disseminated intelligence of Minnesota has succeeded in defeating the law of averages.

And the gap has been narrowing. The first official report (before the recount) reduced the spread to a little over 200 votes, and the recount so far has reduced the spread still further. It's quite possible that when the dust settles, the difference will be fewer than 100 votes one way or the other. (My imaginary friend hasn't done the math on that one yet.)


Story Number Two: Everything's going fine so far

Except for the closeness of the election, nothing unusual has happened yet. The corrections that were made in the first few days were in the normal range. The corrections that have been made in the first half of the recount have been in the normal range. Routine honest mistakes were routinely and honestly corrected. The Coleman and Franken campaigns have filed two quite ordinary lawsuits. The Secretary of State and the various election officials have all done their jobs in a correct, routine, businesslike way.

Minnesota's election law regarding recounts is carefully written and unambiguous, Minnesota has a well-earned reputation for efficient, honest elections, and nothing has happened so far to damage that reputation.

more...

http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2008/11/frankencoleman.htm

[pacalo]

1. "Minnesota has a well-earned reputation for efficient, honest elections, and nothing has happened so

far to damage that reputation."

Just don't take your family on a plane ride, Al. Please.

[lib2DaBone]

2. ya... don't go to St. Paul and expect the cops to protect you.

[kittyholmes2]

3. Heard a discussion of recount

Franken is challenging a number of ballots. He is going to check into absentees, some are being disallowed.