Franken team expects a win of 35-50 votes

Source: CNN

Democrat Al Franken's team said Saturday that after all challenged ballots have finally been sorted, they expect to come out on top with a 35 to 50 vote lead. Franken currently holds a slim lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman in the continuing Minnesota recount — the sole U.S. Senate contest still unresolved.

Marc Elias, the Franken team's lead recount attorney, said in a press conference that the approximately 4,000 withdrawn challenges from both campaigns yet to be added to the current numbers by the state canvassing board have already been included in the campaign's internal count.

"Al Franken will have a lead of between 35 and 50 votes. And, at some point not too long after that, Al Franken will stand before you as the Senator-elect from Minnesota," Elias said.

Representatives with Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's office have said they are sorting out those withdrawn ballots this weekend and will likely have those results on Monday or Tuesday.

But the recount doesn't end there. Still to be dealt with are a thousand or more improperly rejected absentee ballots, which the Minnesota Supreme Court said this week could not be counted unless all parties involved agreed the ballot was rejected in error....

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/12/20/franken-team-expects-a-win-of-35-50-votes/#more-33243

If the US Senate decides Al Franken is the senator-elect, anything before the courts
becomes meaningless because the Senate is final judge of who is elected and who is not.
{That's my understanding of it and I hope I am correct}

The Supreme Court has held Congress can only make sure the member is constitutionally qualified (Meets the age limit and resident requirements). This was decided in Powell v. McCormack (1969) and reaffirmed in U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton (1995).

If this goes to the SCOTUS, I doubt they'll intervene. After Bush v Gore, they're a bit gun-shy about deciding elections.

Unlike Bush V. Gore, there is no federal issue here. The Supreme Court of Minnesota will be the last appeal for the two sides to the election. The US Senate (not the House) can, in fact, refuse to seat whoever is selected as the winner, should they wish to do so. In effect, they can tell the state to pick someone else. That's unlikely once the SecState for Minnesota has certified a winner and any court challenges in MN are over. Possible, but unlikely.

If he gets this one right, he will be like a god. BTW, he made his prediction around a month or so ago.

And yes, it will suck if this goes to court, but isn't Coleman under investigation?

I may be misremembering

I don't see how ANY prediction by either side is based on much more than optimism.

It sucks that it is taking this long, but Democrats have learned--don't give up. Period.

Those ballots will, for the most part, be counted the way the election judge counted them before they were challenged. And that judgement is already a matter of record.

Both sides pretty much know the score at this point.

They will overturn any win by Franken.

Count on it.

Who are the "they" in this case though?

That's the "they."

I thought that was self evident?

But I don't think "they" are exactly all powerful in MN, so I don't see a reason to credit them with more power than they actually have. Elections in MN may not be perfect, but they are fair and honest.

the "they"* in this case is the Supreme Court, federal, not Minnesota. Specifically Justices Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito and Kennedy. And yes, they are all powerful in any state - or at least the court has the last word.

It won't matter how honest elections in Minnesota are or how the recount comes out, if it goes to the Supremes, we're apt to be hosed and stuck with Coleman for another 6 years.