Recount Update – 12/22
Posted in Blog on December 22nd, 2008
CANVASS BOARD TO COMPLETE CHALLENGE REVIEW TOMORROW – FRANKEN CAMPAIGN PROJECTS 35-50 VOTE LEAD
Tomorrow morning, the State Canvass Board completes an important step in this recount process: the board will wrap up its challenge review process. At that time, the Franken campaign expects that Al Franken will lead Norm Coleman by between 35 and 50 votes, meaning we will be on track to win the election. To be ahead at this point in the process bolsters what we have said all along: that once all the votes are counted Al Franken will be the next Senator from Minnesota. Today we are more confident than ever that Al Franken will be the winner of this election. After tomorrow morning’s results are announced, the only remaining issue to be resolved will be improperly rejected absentee ballots – which the Minnesota State Supreme Court has previously ruled should be included in any final count.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/12/20/franken-team-expects-a-win-of-35-50-votes/
http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/1208/Franken_expects_to_defeat_Coleman_by_3550_votes.html
THE METHODOLOGY BEHIND OUR INTERNAL COUNT
The Franken campaign’s internal count before the state canvassing board began its work of reviewing challenges was based on the assumption that all challenges would fail. That internal count yielded a four vote lead for Al Franken. However, multiple published reports support the fact that Franken challenges were of better quality than Coleman challenges, resulting in a widening of Franken’s lead. Published reports currently indicate a 260 vote lead for Franken, but also suggest uncertainty as to what will happen when withdrawn challenges are re-allocated to the candidate for whom the ballots were originally called. But because the Franken methodology already assumed those ballots would end up in the tally of the candidate for whom each one was originally called, the internal count can predict the result of that work with certainty: a 35-50 vote lead for Franken.
PANICKED, COLEMAN CAMPAIGN PEDDLES “DOUBLE-COUNTED” MYTH; STATE SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ARGUMENTS TOMORROW
The Coleman campaign continues to suggest that some votes were counted twice, and is seeking to have the state Supreme Court throw out lawful votes based on this theory, which in turn is based on nothing more than speculation and hypothesis. The Coleman campaign has never produced any evidence that any ballot was counted twice, and indeed the Franken campaign has produced voluminous evidence to disprove the Coleman theory. The Supreme Court will hear the case tomorrow afternoon.
COLEMAN DONORS OBJECT TO USING CAMPAIGN FUNDS FOR LEGAL DEFENSE
Elections experts and Coleman donors are reacting to the Coleman campaign announcement that the legal defense of Norm Coleman would be paid for with campaign funds, a decision that will require special permission from the FEC and the Senate Ethics Committee. Earlier reports confirmed that an FBI investigation is underway in relation to sworn allegations that Nasser Kazeminy, a major Coleman donor, attempted to funnel $100,000 to Coleman. Norm and Laurie Coleman have each retained their own high-powered Twin Cities white-collar criminal defense attorney.
http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/12/19/5419/should_coleman_use_campaign_funds_to_pay_legal_bills
