Franken and Coleman Still Jousting on Absentees

If the two can't compromise, Senate may just seat Franken

By Gabriel Winant, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 30, 2008 1:44 PM CST

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Franken and Coleman Still Jousting on Absentees — In this Nov. 19, 2008 file photo, Minnesota Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken walks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. Franken on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008 withdrew 633 challenges to ballots in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race in what could be a first step toward a quicker conclusion... (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

It’s not clear what the Minnesota Supreme Court was thinking when it made the outcome of the Senate race contingent on the two campaigns working out a deal on disputed absentee ballots. Not surprisingly, the Al Franken and Norm Coleman camps, currently separated by 46 votes, are still far apart, and sniping at each other instead of settling. Franken wants all 1,346 improperly rejected absentee ballots counted, and Coleman only wants a few hundred.

Coleman is accusing Franken of rushing a conclusion while he’s ahead, and Franken is accusing Coleman of stonewalling while he’s behind. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s senior senator, Democrat Amy Klobuchar, said that when the Senate session begins on January 6, the body could seat (perhaps provisionally) whomever the Canvassing Board has certified, even if challenges are still ongoing. That caused another uproar from the Coleman side.
(More Al Franken stories.)

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