Franken, Coleman Agree to Count 900 Rejected Ballots

But court case could keep race on for months
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 3, 2009 7:55 AM CST
Franken, Coleman Agree to Count 900 Rejected Ballots
Election officials and representatives for Republican Incumbent Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken discuss disputed ballots.   (AP Photo/Dawn Villella)

The battling campaigns in the Minnesota Senate race have agreed to count some 900 incorrectly rejected ballots, an unexpectedly high proportion of the 1,350 reviewed by county officials. The system required both campaigns to agree on every ballot, which made such a figure seem unlikely, Talking Points Memo reports.

The 900 votes to be counted are likely to preserve Al Franken’s tiny lead. But it’s not over yet: Norm Coleman is going to court to push for the inclusion of 650 rejected ballots believed to favor him, and will almost certainly bring a legal challenge to the election, says his lawyer. Meanwhile, the new GOP senate campaign chief said his party would block any move by Democrats to seat Franken when the new term begins, Politico reports.
(More Congress stories.)

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