Al Franken...is this for real?

[classicman]

Agreed - If the vote hadn't been challenged, then the original result would have been wrong. Personally I think Franken is an ass, but I really don't care who wins either way. I'm more interested in getting the result right the first time, which apparently did NOT happen in this case.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by classicman

Agreed - If the vote hadn't been challenged, then the original result would have been wrong.

Well, the "original result' was never an official result. It's just that we live in an age where we want instant news reported. So they were reporting the count as it was progressing. They hadn't counted the absentee ballots yet. When they realized that the election was close, they knew that they would have to do a recount including the mailed in absentee ballots. (By the way, Franken never challenged the result or asked for a recount. It was part of the normal process to do a recount when the results were that close.)

All of this is to say that the vote isn't official until it's official, and up until then it's just watching the sausage making.

In a tie like this, I'd also be temped to have a do-over, but that isn't fair either because the conditions would be different. Some groups might not be motivated to vote a second time, or able to vote a second time for whatever reason, and the results will be different in an unfair way.

I think Franken is an interesting choice for Senator, but Minnesota elected a professional wrestler in the past, so who am I to judge them?