Franken wins by +312 votes.
Number of days Norm Coleman seemed to lead: 43.
Number of days Al Franken has certifiably lead: 134
Number of days since election day (Nov. 4): 177
Team Coleman filed their Grief of Appeal; some details after the fold.....
The Appeal
Norm Coleman's legal team beat the April 30 deadline for filing their Brief by less than 2 hours yesterday. Minn Post has a link to the PDF here: (the Supreme Court site has a click for "request by mail")
http://www.minnpost.com/...
Its 62 pages along with references to various parts of the ECC Trail record, exhibits, evidence etc. you know, what a legal brief is supposed to look like. (No sign of crayon.) It falls into arguments on 5 points, all of which you have heard before (and before, and before, and...).
1) They object to the 132/133 (depending on how you count; the ECC said 132 but for a long time everyone got used to saying 133, so I'm using both) Minneapolis ballots being counted. These were cast by 132 1/2 voters who signed in and put their ballots through the voting machines and the machines counted them (maybe all but 1/2?). Then the paper ballots were lost before the Recount. They favored Franken by net +46.
The State Canvassing Board ruled these IN (because the voters voted them; there is good evidence they did; the problem comes from the officials losing the ballots for the sake of the Recount.) The Elections Contest Court (ECC) ruled them IN.
Prediction: Team Coleman's hand for 5 card stud is Doyle Lonegan (the great Robert Shaw) drawing a 3 of clubs. This card has already been clubbed twice and the Supremes will put the 3rd punch in it: No way.
2) They hold (AGAIN!) that duplicate ballots made from mailed-in absentee ballots were "double counted" along with the original absentee ballots in certain Minneapolis precincts, favoring Franken by a net of about +100. (The Pamela Howell testimony was the key piece of evidence; yep, that strong!) They did not offer any other witnesses to this, any physical evidence, and Howell's testimony amounted (barely) to hearsay.
Since courts LIKE things like evidence, facts, etc. and there WEREN'T any entered by Coleman's side, and despite Coleman's request that the Court discover these for themselves, the ECC said there is no evidence this occurred, so the vote totals stay unchanged.
Prediction: Team Coleman draws a 4 of hearts. None of the 4 attorneys in court brought any evidence this happened however much they want to truly believe it DID happen. The Supremes will frisbee this across the room into the far wastebasket.
3)....
I am sorry folks. Too many late nights for some personal things and too little sleep, along with the endless re-stocking at the wine sale have left me a shell.
I wanted to rant on about the "equal protection" crapola Coleman is raising: that on the one hand there was no fraud or intentional effort to discriminate, on a second hand there ARE statewide standards (unlike Bush v. Gore), and on the third hand (!) serious errors were made by non-fraudulant, non-discriminating local officials applying statewide standards that resulted in 4800 Coleman-identified voters (who will probably break in favor of Franken by +700) not having their votes counted.....
but I just can't this morning. I'm shot.
Anything worth reading for analysis is going to have to come from YOU today in the comments. Let it be strong & vigorous & concentrated.... all things I am NOT today. Whew.....
http://www.minnpost.com/...
RSB at the Pioneer Press:
http://www.twincities.com/...
Personal Note
Many of you have been loyal fans of this series and have urged these diaries be collected into a book. Its happening! (although today's diary may not make the cut; this is a whole lot of nothing.)
YOU can own your very own copy (suitable as substitute kitchen table leg; it'll be THAT thick) by following the link here:
www.wordalchemy.net/recountingminnesota/
(Crap. I can't get the link to work. OK I'll bold it. Too beat to fix it. Copy & paste, please.)
Another Massachusetts Liberal has a livelier link HERE (at the frickin' bottom of the diary; REALLY stupid office computer. Grrr!)
Those who order early get some extra features (like YOUR NAME in print within the covers!), autographs, etc. and it helps us prime the pump to pay the printer.
OK thats the latest and most I can do today. (It is going to be a LONG day at the shop I can feel it right now.) Bless you for your reading-ness and take a look at the links: they'll give you the latest from yust southeast of Lake Wobegon.
Shalom.
http://www.dailykos.com/...