Blue Spot

ABC News: Dems Getting Closer to Sixty?

The record 2.9 million ballots cast in Minnesota's Senate race will get an automatic recount after incumbent Republican Norm Coleman's apparent narrow victory over Democratic challenger Al Franken.

Now, fewer than 500 votes stand between the candidates.

On Tuesday night, Coleman declared himself the victor of one of the most hotly contested and expensive races of the election season. Franken, who had the option of waiving the recount by conceding the race, pledged to follow the process through till the end.

According to Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, the process will begin in mid-November with no set end date while the ballots are recounted by hand at the county level. The recount will involve hundreds and cost the state almost $90,000, Ritchie estimated during a news conference Wednesday.

"I recognize that because of my margin of victory, Mr. Franken has a right to pursue an official review of the election results. It is up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct," Coleman said in his Tuesday night victory speech.

During a Wednesday news conference, Franken deemed the race "too close to call."

"Let me be clear," Franken said. "Our goal is to ensure that every vote is properly counted. The process dictated by our laws will be orderly, fair and will begin within a matter of days. We won't know for a little while who won the race, but at the end of the day, we will know that the voice of the electorate was clearly heard."

Labels: Al Franken, Senate