Political Perceptions: Is it Sen. Al Franken—Or Not?

Will it be Sen. Al Franken now—or not? “Minnesota’s canvassing board is set to certify comedian Al Franken as the winner of the Senate race by 225 votes, or less than one-one thousandth of a percent,” notes Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic, but Republican incumbent Norm Coleman seems certain to contest that outcome. “Does Coleman have a case, or is he simply spitting out sour milk?” asks Ambinder. “The answer, as is almost always the case in election disputes, is that one’s perspective fixes the law more than the law fixes one’s perspective. Casting a ballot and having it counted accurately seems to be simple, but humans have found ways to inject Heisenberg-scale uncertainties into the process. Coleman’s contest will rest on the claim that the state canvassing board violated election law when it came to precincts where duplicated ballots — those given to voters whose original ballots were damaged — were included in the tally along with the original, damaged ... (link)