Franken leads by 50; Coleman battling

Democrat Al Franken’s lead in the Minnesota Senate race grew to 50 Tuesday after the challenged-ballot phase of the recount came to a close, but a battle looms over improperly rejected absentee ballots.

The absentee ballots, numbering more than 1,000, appear to be GOP incumbent Norm Coleman’s last hope to swing the result in the state Canvassing Board’s review of the race, but the process isn’t going smoothly.

{mosads}Beyond that, the race appears set for a court challenge. The margin stands at a tiny fraction of 1 percent, with nearly 3 million ballots cast.

The initial list of improperly rejected absentee ballots recommended by the state Canvassing Board is thought to favor Franken, potentially expanding his lead. But Coleman’s recount team is seeking to add another 650 ballots that could push the race in the other direction.

Coleman’s campaign has also moved to cast doubt over the entire process, perhaps in preparation for a court challenge. It said Tuesday that Franken’s campaign has stifled the counting of improperly rejected absentee ballots. Both campaigns must agree on which ballots to count — an issue that has caused the standstill.

“It’s important to understand that the reason we wanted more ballots included — on average less than 10 per county — is that some counties were not consistent in the application of rejected absentee ballots,” Coleman spokesman Mark Drake said in a memo.

Franken’s campaign is expressing confidence that nothing will swing the race. His attorney, Marc Elias, said the campaign was happy to use the initial list of 1,350 ballots recommended by the Canvassing Board, but that the process must now go county by county.

“We are going to continue along the path of trying to make sure that people in Minnesota who cast lawful votes have those votes counted,” Elias said.

Elias declined to prejudge what would come out of the absentee process. He also wouldn’t speculate about whether Franken will be seated next week, when the Senate swears in new members.