Crunch Time In Minnesota Senate Count

Six weeks since Minnesota voters went to the polls, we may now finally be close to finding out who won the Senate election.

Maybe.

We're getting there. We're just not there yet.

Two point nine million people had their say on Nov. 4, choosing among Norm Coleman, the Republican incumbent; Al Franken, the Democratic challenger; and a third candidate, Dean Barkley. At the end of the day, Coleman had a 215-vote lead, a margin so narrow that it led to an automatic recount — a hand recount, of all 2.9 million voters.

That ended on Dec. 5, and Coleman had a slim lead then as well (though the Franken camp claims they're up by four votes). But there are still some 1,500 ballots that remain in dispute, and today the five-member state Canvassing Board begins the process of trying to decipher the intention of the voters and whether to accept them. Some ballots were partially filled out, some have extraneous markings on them, and some have a box filled out for one candidate and then crossed off in favor of another. If enough of the disputed ballots go Franken's way — and there is a sense out there that they may — a Franken victory is a strong possibility.

One reason for that "sense": Several media outlets in the state, including Minnesota Public Radio, have shown sample disputed ballots on their Web sites, and many of those who examined them (online at least) have indicated that Franken deserves more of them than Coleman.

The counting is supposed to be certified by the state on Friday. The loser can then take the decision to court, which would extend the uncertainty at least until Jan. 6, when the 111th Congress is sworn in.