Different methods, same goal. How the recount is done varies from county to county, a reminder of who's really in charge

By Jason Hoppin, jhoppin@pioneerpress.com

Some counties let onlookers circulate among tables stacked with piles of ballots, while some keep them behind yellow "Caution" tape.

Some have campaign representatives sit across the table while elections officials sort ballots, while others allow them to squeeze in closer.

And some counters take lunch breaks, while others don't.

All are reminders that the statewide recount in the Minnesota U.S. Senate race is merely being overseen by the state. The actual work of counting and interpreting ballots — much as with voting on Election Day — is largely being left to local officials.

On Thursday, the gap between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken shifted again.

At the end of Day 2 with 42.3 percent of ballots counted, according to the secretary of state's unofficial results, Coleman had 534,475 votes; Franken had 494,804 votes; other candidates had 204,971 votes; and there were 734 challenged ballots — 374 challenged by Franken and 360 challenged by Coleman.

Before the recount, Coleman had 534,687 votes in the precincts counted through Thursday, and Franken had 494,930. That means Coleman has lost 212 votes and Franken has lost 126.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie spent the first two days of the nationally watched recount visiting some of the 107 counting locations, checking in Thursday with suburbs south and west of the Twin Cities. That included a stop in Chaska, where local officials took it upon themselves to guard ballots by locking them inside a jail cell.

To read the full article:
http://www.twincities.com/ci_11036615