Franken leads by 48 votes
Democrat Al Franken is poised to hold on to a 48-vote lead over Republican Sen. Norm Coleman as the state canvassing board prepares to award a final pile of votes in Minnesota’s unsettled Senate race.
The board was to meet today and award votes from a remaining group of about 5,000 challenges that had been withdrawn by both campaigns.
Judging by a draft report by the secretary of state’s office, Franken will have earned a total of 48 more votes than Coleman once those votes are allotted. That’s out of almost 3 million votes cast in November.
The two campaigns and the secretary of state’s office are still negotiating over how to handle about 1,600 improperly rejected absentee ballots.
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