The Wall Street Journal Features Dartmouth College Professor Michael Herron On Al Franken, 11/26/08
This document was uploaded by user and they confirmed that they have the permission to share it. If you are author or own the copyright of this book, please report to us by using this DMCA report form. Report DMCA
Overview
Download & View The Wall Street Journal Features Dartmouth College Professor Michael Herron On Al Franken, 11/26/08 as PDF for free.
More details
- Words: 1,426
- Pages: 3
Franken Likely to Pick Up Votes Where No Vote Was Detected - WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122766278026358823.html
More
News, Quotes, Companies, Videos
SEARCH
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
POLITICS Today's Paper U.S.
HOME POLITICS
Video
Columns
WORLD
Blogs
BUSINESS
JOURNAL REPORTS
Graphics
Newsletters & Alerts
MARKETS
TECH
New! Journal Community
PERSONAL FINANCE
LIFE & STYLE
Clinton Foundation Reveals Donors
U.S.
OPINION
Register for FREE CAREERS
REAL ESTATE
SMALL BUSINESS
COLUMNS & BLOGS 1 of 10
TOP STORIES IN
Log In
2 of 10
3 of 10
Obama Keen to Regulate Finance
Obama Team Takes Two Shapes
Cho Aim Div
NOVEMBER 26, 2008
Franken Likely to Pick Up Votes Where No Vote Was Detected Article
Comments
MORE IN POLITICS »
By JUNE KRONHOLZ
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Democrats' best shot of winning a 59th seat in the U.S. Senate may depend on Minnesota ballots that don't seem to have been cast for either major party's candidate. Most of these 35,000 ballots were probably cast by voters who abstained because they didn't like either comedian Al Franken, a Democrat, or incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, political experts said. But vote-counting machines also may not have read valid markings on a few of the 2.9 million ballots cast on Election Day. Where that is the case, some political experts said, the hand recount now under way is likely to favor Mr. Franken.
Questionable Ballots?
A win by Mr. Franken would leave the Democrats one seat short of the 60 they would need to override Republican opposition to their legislative agenda. A runoff on Tuesday will decide the winner of Georgia's Senate seat, the final outstanding race from the Nov. 4 election. The Minnesota secretary of state's Web site reported Tuesday night that with 80% of the ballots recounted, Sen. Coleman had about a 2,500-vote lead over Mr. Franken. That lead has shrunk by about 15,000 votes since Monday. Sen. Coleman was about 200 votes ahead after ballots initially were machine
counted after the election. Mr. Franken is likely to pick up more votes in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some rural counties, where Sen. Coleman is favored, aren't scheduled to begin their recounts until just before the Dec. 5 deadline. Each candidate so far has challenged about 1,800 votes that elections judges have awarded to the other side. That raises the possibility of a prolonged battle that could move to state court and draw the U.S. Senate into helping decide the outcome of a race for the first time since 1974.
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed... On WSJ.com
In My Network
Minnesota Recount Is Under Way The Battle for Minnesota Is Just Getting Started Al Franken's Minnesota Law Blog Chats with Marc Elias, Lawyer for Al Franken Franken Gets Bump in Ballot Count
Minnesota uses optical scanners to read most of its ballots, and the chances that the scanners misread many votes are fairly slim, elections experts said. But the election could turn on the ballots where scanners didn't detect any vote. Minnesota voters, like those in many other states, fill in a bubble next to their candidate's name. Typically, the scanner doesn't pick up the preference on a few ballots because the bubble isn't fully filled in or the marking is too light.
Video
Dartmouth College political scientist Michael Herron, who studied the Minnesota returns, said such "residual" votes were more common in the state's Democratic precincts and those with lots of African-American and elderly voters.
Obama Mixes Insiders, Outsiders in Administration 2:39
Pastor Rick Warren on Gay Marriage, Abortion, Torture
Obama Picks Vilsack, Salazar for Cabinet 1:25
3:45
In the hand recount, election workers eyeball each ballot for markings that indicate a voter's
1 of 3
12/19/2008 10:36 AM
Franken Likely to Pick Up Votes Where No Vote Was Detected - WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122766278026358823.html
intent. Dr. Herron said Mr. Franken's vote pickup suggests that the trend is in his favor, but with only one-quarter of the ballots left to count, "it's not clear yet that there are enough" votes to overcome Sen. Coleman's lead. The contested ballots -- many of which are likely to be residual votes -- go next to the state's five-person canvassing board, which will begin its review of the ballots on Dec. 19. Before that, the board will hear a Franken challenge to the state's longtime practice of rejecting absentee ballots that were mailed in without required signatures or with other errors. The state hasn't tabulated how many of those ballots there are. A state judge ruled Nov. 19 in a suit brought by Mr. Franken that the candidates are entitled to the names of those rejected voters. It is up to the canvassing board to decide whether to count the ballots, which also could be decisive if there are enough of them. The canvassing board must certify either Sen. Coleman or Mr. Franken as the winner before one of them can take the Senate seat. Certification could be delayed past the opening of Congress in January if the loser challenges the recount, the decision on the absentee ballots or another part of the process in state court. In that case, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty could fill the seat with a temporary appointee, said Jim Gelbmann, the deputy secretary of state. The Senate also could fill the seat with its own choice, but that is unlikely because of the political uproar it could cause.
More in Politics Obama Keen to Regulate Finance Obama Team Takes Two Shapes Choice of Pastor Aims to Bridge Divide Regulator Schapiro to Run SEC for Obama The Presidential Pickup Game
Most Popular Read
1.
Emailed
Video
Commented
More California Towns Face Bankruptcy
2. How Apple Could Survive Without Steve Jobs 3.
Madoff Misled SEC In '06, Got Off
4. White House Unveils Auto Rescue 5.
Oil Falls Below $37; Stocks Down
Most Read Articles Feed
After the 1974 election, when two votes separated candidates for a New Hampshire seat, the full Senate spent six weeks haggling over 35 disputed ballots before the candidates agreed between themselves to a revote. The chances of such an amicable settlement seem slim in Minnesota, where the candidates have turned out hundreds of lawyers and volunteers to monitor the recount. In perhaps the largest hand recount ever, two election officials count the ballots into piles of 25, then hand them to another pair of officials to count again as campaign workers count along. Write to June Kronholz at [email protected] MORE IN POLITICS
Email
Printer Friendly
Order Reprints
Share:
Sponsored Links Solar, Wind, Cogen - AESO Hot Stock. Develops Energy Efficiency Projects. Invest Now. www.AltlanticEnergy.net
2008 New Car Pricing Buying a New Car, SUV or Hybrid? Find Discount Prices in Your Area! www.WhyPaySticker.com
Wall Street Journal 67% off the newsstand price www.m2b.net/journal
Related Articles and Blogs from WSJ.com Blagojevich Won't Fill Empty Senate Seat, Lawyer Says DEC 18. 2008
Lawmakers Reject Election for Illinois Senate Seat DEC 17. 2008
Blagojevich WonÂt Fill Empty Senate Seat, Lawyer Says DEC 17. 2008
2008 Election: Blacks Key, Turnout Massive, More Bad News for GOP DEC 17. 2008
2 of 3
12/19/2008 10:36 AM
Franken Likely to Pick Up Votes Where No Vote Was Detected - WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122766278026358823.html
Related News From the Web Minn. recount puts Franken two votes behind incumbent The Boston Globe DEC 19. 2008
boston.com
Coleman's lead down to 2 votes in Minn. canvass
DEC 19. 2008
news.aol.com
Holidays, Court Ruling Will Further Extend Minn. Senate Recount DEC 19. 2008 washingtonpost.com
In Minnesota Recount, Scribbles, Mice and Other Ballot Puzzles - NYTimes.com DEC 17. 2008
nytimes.com
Editors' Picks
Hitching a Ride on a Star to Promote Films
Defending the Monarch Butterfly
Charity Rankings Giveth Less Than Meets the Eye
Hawaii's Highest End Slows Down
Falling Hard for the Big Easy
BACK TO TOP
Search News, Quotes, Companies
Log In or Subscribe to access your WSJ.com Account
SEARCH
About: News Licensing
WSJ.com: Site Map
Tools & Formats: Today's Paper
Digital Network
Advertising
Home
Video Center
WSJ.com
Conferences
U.S.
Graphics
Marketwatch.com
About Dow Jones
World
Columns
Barrons.com
Privacy Policy - Updated
Business
Blogs
AllThingsD.com
New on WSJ.com
Subscriber Agreement & Terms of Use - Updated
Markets
Alerts
FiLife.com
Tour the new Journal
Copyright Policy
Market Data
Newsletters
BigCharts.com
Tech
Mobile
Virtual Stock Exchange
Personal Finance
Podcasts
WSJ Asia
Help & Information Center: Help Customer Service Contact Us
Jobs at WSJ.com
Life & Style
RSS Feeds
Opinion
Journal Community
Autos
Forums
Careers Real Estate Small Business
WSJ Europe Foreign Language Editions: WSJ Chinese WSJ Portuguese WSJ Spanish
Corrections Copyright ©2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
3 of 3
12/19/2008 10:36 AM
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122766278026358823.html
More
News, Quotes, Companies, Videos
SEARCH
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
POLITICS Today's Paper U.S.
HOME POLITICS
Video
Columns
WORLD
Blogs
BUSINESS
JOURNAL REPORTS
Graphics
Newsletters & Alerts
MARKETS
TECH
New! Journal Community
PERSONAL FINANCE
LIFE & STYLE
Clinton Foundation Reveals Donors
U.S.
OPINION
Register for FREE CAREERS
REAL ESTATE
SMALL BUSINESS
COLUMNS & BLOGS 1 of 10
TOP STORIES IN
Log In
2 of 10
3 of 10
Obama Keen to Regulate Finance
Obama Team Takes Two Shapes
Cho Aim Div
NOVEMBER 26, 2008
Franken Likely to Pick Up Votes Where No Vote Was Detected Article
Comments
MORE IN POLITICS »
By JUNE KRONHOLZ
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Democrats' best shot of winning a 59th seat in the U.S. Senate may depend on Minnesota ballots that don't seem to have been cast for either major party's candidate. Most of these 35,000 ballots were probably cast by voters who abstained because they didn't like either comedian Al Franken, a Democrat, or incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, political experts said. But vote-counting machines also may not have read valid markings on a few of the 2.9 million ballots cast on Election Day. Where that is the case, some political experts said, the hand recount now under way is likely to favor Mr. Franken.
Questionable Ballots?
A win by Mr. Franken would leave the Democrats one seat short of the 60 they would need to override Republican opposition to their legislative agenda. A runoff on Tuesday will decide the winner of Georgia's Senate seat, the final outstanding race from the Nov. 4 election. The Minnesota secretary of state's Web site reported Tuesday night that with 80% of the ballots recounted, Sen. Coleman had about a 2,500-vote lead over Mr. Franken. That lead has shrunk by about 15,000 votes since Monday. Sen. Coleman was about 200 votes ahead after ballots initially were machine
counted after the election. Mr. Franken is likely to pick up more votes in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some rural counties, where Sen. Coleman is favored, aren't scheduled to begin their recounts until just before the Dec. 5 deadline. Each candidate so far has challenged about 1,800 votes that elections judges have awarded to the other side. That raises the possibility of a prolonged battle that could move to state court and draw the U.S. Senate into helping decide the outcome of a race for the first time since 1974.
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed... On WSJ.com
In My Network
Minnesota Recount Is Under Way The Battle for Minnesota Is Just Getting Started Al Franken's Minnesota Law Blog Chats with Marc Elias, Lawyer for Al Franken Franken Gets Bump in Ballot Count
Minnesota uses optical scanners to read most of its ballots, and the chances that the scanners misread many votes are fairly slim, elections experts said. But the election could turn on the ballots where scanners didn't detect any vote. Minnesota voters, like those in many other states, fill in a bubble next to their candidate's name. Typically, the scanner doesn't pick up the preference on a few ballots because the bubble isn't fully filled in or the marking is too light.
Video
Dartmouth College political scientist Michael Herron, who studied the Minnesota returns, said such "residual" votes were more common in the state's Democratic precincts and those with lots of African-American and elderly voters.
Obama Mixes Insiders, Outsiders in Administration 2:39
Pastor Rick Warren on Gay Marriage, Abortion, Torture
Obama Picks Vilsack, Salazar for Cabinet 1:25
3:45
In the hand recount, election workers eyeball each ballot for markings that indicate a voter's
1 of 3
12/19/2008 10:36 AM
Franken Likely to Pick Up Votes Where No Vote Was Detected - WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122766278026358823.html
intent. Dr. Herron said Mr. Franken's vote pickup suggests that the trend is in his favor, but with only one-quarter of the ballots left to count, "it's not clear yet that there are enough" votes to overcome Sen. Coleman's lead. The contested ballots -- many of which are likely to be residual votes -- go next to the state's five-person canvassing board, which will begin its review of the ballots on Dec. 19. Before that, the board will hear a Franken challenge to the state's longtime practice of rejecting absentee ballots that were mailed in without required signatures or with other errors. The state hasn't tabulated how many of those ballots there are. A state judge ruled Nov. 19 in a suit brought by Mr. Franken that the candidates are entitled to the names of those rejected voters. It is up to the canvassing board to decide whether to count the ballots, which also could be decisive if there are enough of them. The canvassing board must certify either Sen. Coleman or Mr. Franken as the winner before one of them can take the Senate seat. Certification could be delayed past the opening of Congress in January if the loser challenges the recount, the decision on the absentee ballots or another part of the process in state court. In that case, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty could fill the seat with a temporary appointee, said Jim Gelbmann, the deputy secretary of state. The Senate also could fill the seat with its own choice, but that is unlikely because of the political uproar it could cause.
More in Politics Obama Keen to Regulate Finance Obama Team Takes Two Shapes Choice of Pastor Aims to Bridge Divide Regulator Schapiro to Run SEC for Obama The Presidential Pickup Game
Most Popular Read
1.
Emailed
Video
Commented
More California Towns Face Bankruptcy
2. How Apple Could Survive Without Steve Jobs 3.
Madoff Misled SEC In '06, Got Off
4. White House Unveils Auto Rescue 5.
Oil Falls Below $37; Stocks Down
Most Read Articles Feed
After the 1974 election, when two votes separated candidates for a New Hampshire seat, the full Senate spent six weeks haggling over 35 disputed ballots before the candidates agreed between themselves to a revote. The chances of such an amicable settlement seem slim in Minnesota, where the candidates have turned out hundreds of lawyers and volunteers to monitor the recount. In perhaps the largest hand recount ever, two election officials count the ballots into piles of 25, then hand them to another pair of officials to count again as campaign workers count along. Write to June Kronholz at [email protected] MORE IN POLITICS
Printer Friendly
Order Reprints
Share:
Sponsored Links Solar, Wind, Cogen - AESO Hot Stock. Develops Energy Efficiency Projects. Invest Now. www.AltlanticEnergy.net
2008 New Car Pricing Buying a New Car, SUV or Hybrid? Find Discount Prices in Your Area! www.WhyPaySticker.com
Wall Street Journal 67% off the newsstand price www.m2b.net/journal
Related Articles and Blogs from WSJ.com Blagojevich Won't Fill Empty Senate Seat, Lawyer Says DEC 18. 2008
Lawmakers Reject Election for Illinois Senate Seat DEC 17. 2008
Blagojevich WonÂt Fill Empty Senate Seat, Lawyer Says DEC 17. 2008
2008 Election: Blacks Key, Turnout Massive, More Bad News for GOP DEC 17. 2008
2 of 3
12/19/2008 10:36 AM
Franken Likely to Pick Up Votes Where No Vote Was Detected - WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122766278026358823.html
Related News From the Web Minn. recount puts Franken two votes behind incumbent The Boston Globe DEC 19. 2008
boston.com
Coleman's lead down to 2 votes in Minn. canvass
DEC 19. 2008
news.aol.com
Holidays, Court Ruling Will Further Extend Minn. Senate Recount DEC 19. 2008 washingtonpost.com
In Minnesota Recount, Scribbles, Mice and Other Ballot Puzzles - NYTimes.com DEC 17. 2008
nytimes.com
Editors' Picks
Hitching a Ride on a Star to Promote Films
Defending the Monarch Butterfly
Charity Rankings Giveth Less Than Meets the Eye
Hawaii's Highest End Slows Down
Falling Hard for the Big Easy
BACK TO TOP
Search News, Quotes, Companies
Log In or Subscribe to access your WSJ.com Account
SEARCH
About: News Licensing
WSJ.com: Site Map
Tools & Formats: Today's Paper
Digital Network
Advertising
Home
Video Center
WSJ.com
Conferences
U.S.
Graphics
Marketwatch.com
About Dow Jones
World
Columns
Barrons.com
Privacy Policy - Updated
Business
Blogs
AllThingsD.com
New on WSJ.com
Subscriber Agreement & Terms of Use - Updated
Markets
Alerts
FiLife.com
Tour the new Journal
Copyright Policy
Market Data
Newsletters
BigCharts.com
Tech
Mobile
Virtual Stock Exchange
Personal Finance
Podcasts
WSJ Asia
Help & Information Center: Help Customer Service Contact Us
Jobs at WSJ.com
Life & Style
RSS Feeds
Opinion
Journal Community
Autos
Forums
Careers Real Estate Small Business
WSJ Europe Foreign Language Editions: WSJ Chinese WSJ Portuguese WSJ Spanish
Corrections Copyright ©2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
3 of 3
12/19/2008 10:36 AM
Related Documents
The Wall Street Journal - Stop The Madness
November 2019 16
Nightmare On Wall Street
November 2019 28
Wall Street Journal (asia) Ceatec1
November 2019 18
