Franken, Coleman and recounts
What to do when elections result in a statistical tie
Nobody really won the Senate election in Minnesota, said Jason Richwine in National Review Online. "The election was a tie." So instead of depriving the state of a Senate seat while Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman slug it out, we should abolish recounts and stick with the first result. Or at least save time and money, and just flip a coin.
Deja vu, anybody? asked Horace Cooper in The Washington Times. The recount irregularities that changed a narrow Coleman victory to a narrow Franken one are strikingly similar to Florida's mess in Bush v. Gore. Double counting, absentee ballots from ineligible voters, "mysterious ghost ballots—all varying from precinct to precinct"—obscure the real winner, along with being "just plain unconstitutional."
That's rich, said Eric Kleefeld in Talking Points Memo. Coleman, and the people carrying water for him, are twisting themselves into knots to score him votes. Their latest P.R. tactic is trying to find people whose absentee ballots were rejected, "including ballots they themselves earlier objected to counting." So, tell me again, who's the one with the flexible standards?
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Political cartoons for November 16Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include presidential pardons, the Lincoln penny, and more
-
The vast horizons of the Puna de AtacamaThe Week Recommends The ‘dramatic and surreal’ landscape features volcanoes, fumaroles and salt flats
-
Asylum hotels: everything you need to knowThe Explainer Using hotels to house asylum seekers has proved extremely unpopular. Why, and what can the government do about it?
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardonTalking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are US billionaires backing?The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration