I was bawling my eyes out last night as I listened to Obama's speech. I was and am elated!
I wanted to watch the rest of the resuts, but I had to be at work very early this morning. I didn't hear until today that the AP called the MN Senate race for Norm Coleman. Saddened, I went to Al Franken's website to read his response and found that the
AP Uncalls Minnesota Senate Race
and that a recount is mandatory!
>Al Franken for U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press is uncalling the Minnesota Senate race.
Republican Sen. Norm Coleman finished ahead of Democrat Al Franken early Wednesday in the final vote count, but his 571-vote margin falls within the state’s mandatory recount law. That law requires a recount any time the margin between the top two candidates is less than one-half of one percent.
The AP called the race prematurely.
Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said the recount won’t begin until mid-November at the earliest and will probably stretch into December. It will involve local election officials from around the state.
We'll have some time before we know the true result. Again, I am hopeful. This is not yet over.
Update
Al issued a statement on his webpage
There is reason to believe that the recount could change the vote tallies significantly.
Our office and the Obama campaign have received reports of irregularities at various precincts around the state. For instance, some polling places in Minneapolis ran out of registration materials. Our team has been working on those issues for several hours already, and they will continue to do so this morning as the recount process begins.
Let me be clear: This race is too close to call, and we do not yet know who won. We are lucky enough to live in a state with built-in protections to ensure that in close elections like these, the will of the people is accurately reflected in the outcome.
This has been a long campaign, and it’s going to be a little longer before we have a winner. Senator Coleman, Senator Barkley, and I have done a lot of talking. Minnesotans have waited a long time to have THEIR say. And thanks to our state’s laws, we will eventually understand precisely what they have said.