In one of the most hotly contested, expensive and closest U.S. Senate races this election, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman has declared victory. After a night spent watching precinct reports eke out from the secretary of stateâĂ„Ă´s office that essentially leveled the race, Democratic challenger Al Franken fell behind by a slight 475 votes , according to secretary of state numbers when all were tallied. âĂ„ĂşThe senator is thrilled and humbled to be given the opportunity to serve the people of Minnesota for another six years,âĂ„Ăą read a statement from Coleman spokesman Cullen Sheehan posted Wednesday morning to the campaign website. Still, the margin of ColemanâĂ„Ă´s presumed victory is small enough âĂ„Ă® at 0.5 percent âĂ„Ă® to warrant a recount by state law. The secretary of stateâĂ„Ă´s office will report to a canvassing committee on Nov. 18 to relay unofficial election results for all Minnesota races, as indicated by pre-recount numbers. The canvassing committee, which includes Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, two Minnesota Supreme Court justices and two District judges, will then review the report and decide whether to validate the unofficial tabulations. âĂ„ĂşOne of those official results will be for U.S. Senate race,âĂ„Ăą Ritchie said. âĂ„ĂşThat official result will indicate the margin will be less than half a percent. That triggers an automatic recount, to begin the following morning.âĂ„Ăą Local elections officials and representatives from each campaign will comb through individual ballots to ensure votes were recorded as voters intended. Disputed ballots, ones with unclear markings, will face further review by judges. TheyâĂ„Ă´ll also look for human error in reporting original Election Day numbers, and possible missing ballots. Following the recount, the new information âĂ„Ă® and perhaps a new result âĂ„Ă® will come before the canvassing board for approval. In a Franken statement issued Wednesday morning, the senatorial hopeful said the ultimate goal is to be sure all votes are properly counted. âĂ„ĂşWe won’t know for a little while who won this race,âĂ„Ăą the statement read. âĂ„ĂşBut at the end of the day, we will know that the voice of the electorate was clearly heard.âĂ„Ăą Franken hinted that he hasnâĂ„Ă´t ruled out the possibility of a post-recount senatorial shift. âĂ„ĂşWe are lucky enough to live in a state with built-in protections to ensure that in close elections like these, the will of the people is accurately reflected in the outcome,âĂ„Ăą he said. Michael McDonald, an assistant professor of government and politics at George Mason University in Virginia, cautioned against black-and-white thinking. âĂ„ĂşReally, itâĂ„Ă´s just a way to make sure that all the iâĂ„Ă´s are dotted and the tâĂ„Ă´s are crossed,âĂ„Ăą he said. Additionally, finding a vote-counting error doesnâĂ„Ă´t necessarily benefit the candidate whoâĂ„Ă´s behind. âĂ„ĂşThat error could be in either direction,âĂ„Ăą McDonald said. âĂ„ĂşItâĂ„Ă´s kind of like rolling dice.âĂ„Ăą Post-recount predictions, at this point, are futile. Too many things are up in the air, Ritchie said. âĂ„ĂşThereâĂ„Ă´s no way to predict the outcome of a recount,âĂ„Ăą he said. âĂ„ĂşYou have to do a recount.âĂ„Ăą
Coleman calls Senate race; recount to occur
Published November 5, 2008
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