Recount is complete; Franken up by 226

[deminks]

http://www.startribune.com/politics/37047159.html

Norm Coleman's term as a U.S. Senator ended at noon Washington time on Saturday, and by evening his hopes of winning a second term had been dealt an expected but serious setback as state officials counted previously rejected absentee ballots in St. Paul.

Democrat Al Franken held an unofficial lead of 226 votes over Coleman as this edition of the Star Tribune went to press, according to a newspaper tally of officials' count of the absentee ballots. Franken had led unofficially by 49 votes going into the day and gained a net 177 votes from the new ballots.

With the recount complete, focus immediately shifted to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which continued to consider a request from the Coleman campaign to alter the process and add more absentee ballots to be reconsidered. But by early evening there there was no word from the state's highest court as to when it would rule or hear arguments.

Officials from the Minnesota Secretary of State's office, flanked by attorneys for Coleman and Franken, spent much of the day sorting through -- but not yet counting -- the 933 previously-rejected absentee ballots that local election officials had acknowledged were mistakenly not counted. When the counting finally began in the late afternoon, and then moved quickly, Franken gained a large majority of the votes that the campaign had for weeks argued should be counted.

(end snip)

If Al Franken is certified by the canvasing board of MN when they meet on Monday and possibly Tuesday, then he should be seated. And Harry Reid can kiss my hiney.