I’ve decided to channel Emptywheel and start constructing a timeline of sorts for the Franken-Coleman recount. Take a look at this handy chart compiled by Twin Cities blogger Jeff Rosenberg. It shows the ratio of challenges to ballots counted.
Notice that for most of the first three days of the recount, the ratios for each campaign stayed between three and five challenged ballots per every ten thousand ballots cast. Those three days were the period where Coleman’s officially-announced lead over Franken was shrinking. (See here, here and here for details.) They were also in the period just before the Coleman campaign went on a frivolous-challenge jag in order to artificially (and temporarily) goose the official recount numbers in their favor, and the Franken campaign felt compelled to play tit-for-tat just to make sure the publicly-announced faked-up Coleman "lead" didn’t get too high.
This is why Jeff Rosenberg is no longer publicizing the "official" vote total: It’s not only inaccurate, it only serves to set up a situation where Coleman and his people will be loudly screaming "We wuz robbed!" if — or rather, when — all his frivolous challenges are rejected and the challenged ballots are allowed back into the recount and wipe out his lead.
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if franken is gaming the vote challenges just like coleman is then the challenges are about equal and this is not good news for franken
Timelines!
Well, Franken is gaming it also. But if you notice, his number of challenges is less than Coleman’s by quite a bit right now. From what I’ve seen of the challenged ballots – Coleman’s are more aggregious than Franken’s – at least they were* in the beginning. I suppose they are both challenging ballots that are just common sense now.
*(Like the challenge because the voter picked a candidate from one party for President and the opposite one for Senate!)
Some of them are really hard though, A clear mark in both circles, and a line that is drawn partly through one name and partly underneath it. So, did the voter want to cross out the one with the line, or change their vote to the one with the ‘under’ line? I don’t envy the canvassing board on ones like that.
Digg this post
Now Phoenix, could you explain to me why a Liberal Balrog (rare in these parts) has Loon Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, and perhaps Norm Coleman representing me?
I’ve tried to be good. I phone banked for Patti and Elwyn. I burned my old WWF VHS tapes after Jess Ventura went kaput.
What hath I wrought?
But here, I can keep an eye on the lot of them.
You burned tapes that had Macho Man Randy Savage on them, too, then. That’s what did it. /s
I have my fingers crossed that we win 1 more seat. Then on to the south and Help Martin win there. Then send the Lipper off to the repugs because 59 works for me. Good Luck to you all there, from Calif.
jo6pac
Everything is on schedule, please move along.
I’m lighting some incense for you right now.
Bachmann’s district is exurnam prosperity Christian types. Totally nuts. Two other districts are Blue Dog districts. Minnesota is not the liberal stronghold it was.
I think that the whole recount fight from the beginning, and especially from now on, is fighting the Republican propaganda machine. The recount itself is pretty routine, including the challenges and the court cases. But if it’s still indecisive or very close, it will go either to Pawlenty or to the Senate, and we’ll hear screams of rage about a stolen election unless Coleman is seated.
My feeling is that if the election is indecisive or dead locked, the Senate should just seat Franken. That’s what the Republicans would do, and it’s as fair an outcome as any. But the Republican media machine will scare them off.
are you sure your screen name shouldn’t be reginasdobermanns?
or maybe reginasdroolingmaddogs?
The authoritarian right is quite upset I see, but has no actual information to contribute to this discussion.
I commend you for using a dictionary. May I recommend “Webster’s Grammar and Punctuation Handbook” available at Amazon.com?
I’d also recommend really thinking about why you feel so fearful and angry. Who planted the thoughts in your head that precede these feelings? Why did they plant them? As an authoritarian follower, you are taught to obey your authoritarian leader(s) and stay loyal to them without question, or risk being accused of failing your conservative principles. That’s a tough spot.
As a progressive, I can only suggest to take great care when unilaterally disarming your capacity for reason in order to follow the conservative principle of obedience to your authoritarian leader(s).
- Tom
I follow what i feel is right.I do not feel it is right to murder the unborn.i do not feel that it is right for 2 men or 2 women to get married after all God made Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve…………I do not think that our Government should be one sided at all not with any party……. I do beleave that when the head is deformed the body is deformed right along with it.As of Jan.20th our new Government will be very deformed.Does that not bother any of you folks this country along with all of us in it are going to be in for a very rough ride.i just hope we dont crash.But if we do i know who to thank for it…
I like my mastiffs just fine thank you.And the name is just right.