I really hope Franken pulls through. Honestly, I think Franken's chances are pretty good in the recount.

I think the headline is a little misleading here, though. I don't think the actual post even suggests that Franken is worried he might not catch Coleman.

Though the analysis is certainly correct. Franken wants the least amount of taint possible to how those handling undervotes make their judgments.

How did Minnesota turn into Ohio/Florida? Dayum - I really want Al to pull this one out. And I hate it when there's a lot of litigation involved in an election. Never feels right.

From what I have read, MN is one of the few states with a well though out recount process that attempts to validate every vote possible, according to the intent of the voter.

Of course Franken should push for completion of the initial vote canvass before any certification, for the precise reasons stated by his campaign.

To imply that Franken aides may be getting nervous seems to mirror the typical media attempt to create a false equivalency with the Coleman camp, since we already know they are flailing desperately.

I'm not sure how this race is going to turn out. A week ago, I was confident Franken would pull through, but now I'm concerned that he won't pick up enough votes in the recount. I don't think Franken's camp is as nervous as the MSM purports them to be and I still believe that, if it's found that thousands of eligible voters were purged from the rolls in MN for no viable reason, Franken will win by a fairly large margin. Coleman's camp is running scared, it's just a question of whose team's lawyers are more persuasive now.

Whenever you're behind at this stage in the game there's something to be worried about, but in any case, one can only expect that each side will pull out all the sides. Coleman too is doing whatever he can to shed doubt on any outcome that favors Franken.

So let's see if I get this..Franken's trying to stall the start of the recount and when he fails to take the lead with this stunt, then what does he look like?

Boy, I can see why Coleman's surviving

From MSNBC "First Read"---

A MN state official claims that the voting machines are 99.9% accurate. If true, the remaining 0.1% margin of error would be about 15 times more than the 206 votes that currently separate Franken and Coleman.

That alone is reason enough for the Franken campaign to have filed today's brief.

why can't democrats accept it when they lose. franken is a sore loserman.

In Florida, the way incomplete or otherwise invalidated ballots are "rectified" is that AFTER the election, the Boards of Elections mail back the ballots & tell the (non)voters what they did wrong. The vote doesn't count but the voter gets a nice "better luck next time, chump" consolation letter. And this was a reform!

Here's hoping Minnesota has a more equitable system & Franken can force its implementation. Both sides should definitely get a look at all absentee ballots deemed insufficient -- after all, the folks who decide a ballot is insufficient are usually not the top paygrade, all due respect intended.

The Constant Weader at www.RealityChex.com

There were absentee ballots rejected; no one knows who would have received those votes unless and until they were counted. In a case that I witnessed and another one I heard about, the ballots were refused at the precinct polls because there is a 3:00 p.m. election day deadline which applies to absentee ballots--although regular voters had until 8:00 pm to vote. That 3 pm deadline may be one of the reasons votes were rejected; other reasons are also plausible. It is a technicality, but it works against accepting the ballots and I don't expect Mr. Franken's lawyers can prevail on this point! It is the same as if you got to the polls at one minute after 8 pm. You don't get to vote.

I don't know why there is optimism about Franken's chances. 206 votes is a tiny percentage but it is still a huge number of votes to reverse. Undervotes are as likely to go to Coleman or Barkley as to Franken. Previous recounts even with really tight margins have tended to go to the initial leaders. As Backstrom and Stinett's book about the 1962 MN governor's race noted, Rolvaag the eventual winner WAS ahead after the first canvass---but then Andersen's people re-opened some precincts in order to claim a lead for their guy. In that case the State Supreme Court (by a party-line vote) let them do it. Since Republicans still dominate on the State court, I doubt they will accept a similar stunt by Franken. The arguments about "expectations" and "subtle bias" have no legal merit that I can see.

you be the troll who calls a troll a troll ,troll!

So let's see if I get this...

Coleman's a taint?

Questionable move to call for a delay. If I was a recount poll worker whose work could be "colored" by a Coleman "lead" then I could just as easily by "colored" by a Franken stunt to wreck my holidays (as well as those of his own recount challengers) with an unnecessary delay. Earth to Franken team: people have lives out here! Have you ever heard of multitasking?