ST. PAUL, Minn. — Democrat Al Franken’s lead in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race widened Tuesday to 312 votes after previously rejected absentee ballots were added to the counting.
Franken did better than Republican Norm Coleman by a nearly 2-to-1 margin as the ballots were opened and counted as part of a lawsuit brought by Coleman over the statewide recount. A three-judge panel ruled earlier that 351 ballots had been improperly rejected during the election and should be restored. Franken led by 225 votes going into Tuesday’s count of those ballots.
The judges have yet to settle some claims in Coleman’s lawsuit, but the absentees were the key issue that could have given Coleman enough votes to overtake Franken.
Outside the courtroom, Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg minimized the new margin and said he would appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Tuesday’s counting of ballots in open court represented the first new votes added to the race since the recount ended in early January.
Since Nov. 4, Coleman has surrendered more than 1,000 net votes to Franken — first as local officials reconciled their Election Night tabulations, then during the hand recount, where he lost the lead, and now through his court case.
