The Democrat Party of Thieves And Crooks Have Found More Votes For Franken

Cross posted from Pat Dollards.

Politico:

As we reported last night, Al Franken’s campaign is optimistic about its chances of winning the recount.

And for the first time, Franken has taken the lead over Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) — currently by 78 votes. This wasn’t unexpected: Franken has been steadily gaining votes as the state’s Canvassing Board continues to rule on Coleman’s challenges.

The count doesn’t include the approximately 5,000 challenges that were withdrawn from both campaigns, which means the lead could still change hands. Franken withdrew about 400 more challenges than Coleman, and those aren’t reflected in the count.

But Franken’s campaign has had more success with its challenges so far, which is helping him in the recount. Coleman has only netted 24 votes from his 564 challenges (4 percent success rate), while Franken gained 68 votes from his 414 challenges (16 percent success rate).

ALSO: With the recount expected to last into next year, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) is looking into whether he will need to appoint a senator to temporarily fill the seat, according to CNN. The Senate swears in members of the upcoming Congress on Jan. 6, and the winner may not be determined by then.



FOX:

Franken Takes Lead in Minnesota Recount for the First Time

Democrat Al Franken has taken the lead over Sen. Norm Coleman in the Minnesota Senate race recount, but that could change as a board reviews challenges.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Democrat Al Franken edged ahead of Republican incumbent Norm Coleman on Friday for the first time in Minnesota’s long-running U.S. Senate recount.

Franken opened up a slight lead on the fourth day of a state Canvassing Board meeting to decide the fate of hundreds of disputed ballots.

The change was notable because Coleman led Franken in election night returns and also held a 188-vote lead before the board took up challenged ballots. But its significance was limited, with the possibility the lead could change again before the long recount ends.

The board had several hundred remaining challenges to resolve, with a goal of doing so by Friday. Both Coleman and Franken are also waiting to see how much they gain from some 5,000 challenges that they withdrew, and the board won’t allocate those until Monday.

The outcome of the recount also depends on an estimated 1,600 absentee ballots that were improperly rejected. The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that those ballots must be counted, and set a Dec. 31 deadline for counties to work with the candidates to identify and count them.

The high court ruling virtually guaranteed that the recount would sprawl into the new year. With Congress set to convene Jan. 6, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said his staff was researching the possibility of a temporary appointment.

But Pawlenty said it was unlikely he would do so because he expected the recount would be resolved by then.

The ballot that put Franken in the lead came from Rochester, where a voter’s mark for Franken filled not just his oval but a good chunk of territory next to it. A challenge from the Coleman campaign was rejected.

Before the five-member canvassing board began reviewing challenges Friday, it rejected a request from the Coleman campaign to disqualify hundreds of ballots that the campaign argued were duplicates and had been counted twice.

G. Barry Anderson, a Supreme Court justice serving on the board, said the issue was not the board’s to decide.

“While I think there is a serious issue here, the location, extent and remedy lie elsewhere,” Anderson said.


And while this is going on, CONgress thieves have voted themselves a pay raise. WARNING: Graphic pictures and language. Also at Pat Dollards.

So America. Had enough yet????