Well then, it was pretty close. I got my information from a Nov. 6 Star Trib article. There were lots of different numbers floating around. There still are.
Btw, it's normal for the numbers to fluctuate from election night to the final total. Usually they actually fluctuate more than they did in this election. When Coleman beat Mondale in 2002, the difference between the election night totals and the final count was 8,500 votes. In the attorney general race in 2006, the difference was something like 20 or 25 thousand votes.
was listening to WCCO, Esme Murphy last night... she was talkin about it with a professor of something or another, forget his name... anyway, he said Coleman pretty much needs to have a perfect storm of things go in his favor over the coming weeks to even come close to having a shot at overcoming the 225 vote Franken lead, and that if that doesn't happen he'd have really no case to bring to court because both sides have been equally involved in the recount process the whole way through and have agreed to everything that's been counted.
There is a great line from the movie "Recount" (About the Gore-Bush election in Florida).
When Gore asked one of his advisors how far he should take the fight to recount all the votes...he stated that just short of the point where even if you win, you can't win. Meaning if you go to far to win you will lose the public's support no matter what.
The MN Supreme Court ruled against Norm Coleman today on the issue of the 650 rejected absentee ballots that he wanted counted. This makes it nearly mathematically impossible for Coleman to catch Franken, even if he were to win in court on the double-counted ballots and the missing ballots in Minneapolis. It's almost over...
I don't know what happens to our votes when we vote. I heard a lot of people say that they were voting by absentee ballot because they wanted to be sure their votes were counted. I heard others say they wanted to vote at the polls to be sure their votes were counted. It seems there are problems either way? Anyone know the facts on this?
Absentee votes are delivered to the polling places and run through the machines after the polls close. So, at least in theory, voting absentee should not increase nor decrease the chances that your vote will be counted accurately.
The only thing I've learned is a single vote really doesn't count...
I mean, if things get down to the nitty gritty and your vote is the deciding one, people will bicker and squabble about it. Then there's that pesky margin of error... and missing ballots, and recounts, and news coverage, and claims of voter fraud, and lawsuits.. headaches..
Really? In the year that the race is decided by 225 votes you claim a single vote doesn't really count?
Interesting.
The whole thing was a headache but it was done to ensure that all the votes DO count. I think they've done a pretty good job considering you know there is going to be quite a bit of bickering between the two sides.
IMO I don't trust early voting or absentee voting as much, only because your ballot is in control of another individual other than yourself. I guess most people take their respondsibility serious, but I don't want some city clerk or secretary having a bad day with my ballot and filing it in the wrong drawer or forgetting them in her car.
I still get a sense of awe and satisfaction on election day when I slide my ballot into the machine and see the number counter go up.
when we get article 4 section 17 of the minnesota constitution (Sec. 17. LAWS TO EMBRACE ONLY ONE SUBJECT. No law shall embrace more than one subject, which shall be expressed in its title. ) into the federal constitution, politics will be a lot more interesting. not that such a clause would necessarily have an effect in this case. but it might.
FYI - Heres what they plan on spending the stimulus money on....
Stimulus plan
A comparison of the $827 billion economic recovery plan drafted by Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama with a $820 billion version passed by the House. Additional debt costs would add about $350 billion or more over 10 years. Many provisions expire in two years.
=========================================================== Spending Aid to poor and unemployed
•Senate — $47 billion to provide extended unemployment benefits through Dec. 31, increased by $25 a week, and provide job training; $16.5 billion to increase food stamp benefits by 12 percent through fiscal 2011 and issue a one-time bonus payment; $3 billion in temporary welfare payments.
•House — Comparable extension of unemployment insurance; $20 billion to increase food stamp benefits by 14 percent; $2.5 billion in temporary welfare payments; $1 billion for home heating subsidies and $1 billion for community action agencies.
Direct cash payments •Senate — $17 billion to give one-time $300 payments to Social Security recipients, poor people on Supplemental Security Income, and veterans receiving disability and pensions.
•House — $4 billion to provide a one-time additional Supplemental Security Income payment to poor elderly and disabled people of $450 for individuals and $630 for married couples.
Infrastructure • Senate — $46 billion for transportation projects, including $27 billion for highway and bridge construction and repair and $11.5 billion for mass transit and rail projects; $4.6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers; $5 billion for public housing improvements; $6.4 billion for clean and drinking water projects.
•House — $47 billion for transportation projects, including $27 billion for highway and bridge construction and repair and $12 billion for mass transit, including $7.5 billion to buy transit equipment such as buses; and $31 billion to build and repair federal buildings and other public infrastructures.
Health care •Senate — $21 billion to subsidize health care insurance for the unemployed under the COBRA program; $87 billion to help states with Medicaid; $22 billion to modernize health information technology systems; and $10 billion for health research and construction of National Institutes of Health facilities.
•House — $40 billion to subsidize health care insurance for the unemployed under the COBRA program or provide health care through Medicaid; $87 billion to help states with Medicaid; $20 billion to modernize health information technology systems; $4 billion for preventative care; $1.5 billion for community health centers; $420 million to combat avian flu; $335 million for programs that combat AIDS,
sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis.
Education •Senate — $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cuts in education aid and provide block grants; $25 billion to school districts to fund special education and the No Child Left Behind K-12 law; $14 billion to boost the maximum Pell Grant by $400 to $5,250; $2 billion for Head Start.
•House — Similar aid to states and school districts; $21 billion for school modernization; $16 billion to boost the maximum Pell Grant by $500 to $5,350; $2 billion for Head Start.
Energy •Senate — $40 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, including $2.9 billion to weatherize modest-income homes; $4.6 billion for fossil fuel research and development; $6.4 billion to clean up nuclear weapons production sites; $11 billion toward a so-called “smart electricity grid” to reduce waste; $8.5 billion to subsidize loans for renewable energy projects; and $2 billion for advanced battery systems.
•House — $28.4 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, including $6.2 billion to weatherize homes; $11 billion to fund a “smart electricity grid”.
Homeland security •Senate — $4.7 billion for homeland security programs, including $1 billion for airport screening equipment and $800 million for port security.
•House — $1.1 billion, including $500 million for airport screening equipment.
Law enforcement •Senate — $3.5 billion in grants to state and local law enforcement to hire officers and purchase equipment.
•House — Comparable provision.
Taxes
New tax credit •House— About $145 billion for $500 per-worker, $1,000 per-couple tax credits in 2009 and 2010. For the last half of 2009, workers could expect to see about $20 a week less withheld from their paychecks starting around June. Millions of Americans who don’t make enough money to pay federal income taxes could file returns next year and receive checks. Individuals making more than $75,000 and couples making more than $150,000 would receive reduced amounts.
•Senate — The credit would phase out at incomes of $70,000 for individuals and couples making more than $140,000 and phase out more quickly, reducing the cost to $140 billion.
•Senate — About $70 billion to spare 24 million taxpayers from being hit with the alternative minimum tax in 2009. The change would save a family of four an average of $2,300. The tax was designed to make sure wealthy taxpayers can’t use credits and deductions to avoid paying any taxes. But it was never indexed to inflation, so families making as little as $45,000 could get significant increases without the change. Congress addresses it each year, usually in the fall.
Expanded child credit •House — $18.3 billion to give greater access to the $1,000 per-child tax credit for the working poor in 2009 and 2010. Under current law, workers must make at least $12,550 to receive any portion of the credit. The change eliminates the floor, meaning more workers who pay no federal income taxes could receive checks.
•Senate — Sets a new income threshold of $8,100 to receive any portion of the credit, reducing the cost to $7.5 billion.
Expanded earned income tax credit •House — $4.7 billion to increase the earned-income tax credit — which provides money to the working poor — for families with at least three children.
•Senate — Same.
Expanded college credit •House — $13.7 billion to provide a $2,500 expanded tax credit for college tuition and related expenses for 2009 and 2010. The credit is phased out for couples making more than $160,000.
•Senate — Reduces the amount that can be refunded to low-income families that pay no income taxes, lowering the cost to $13 billion.
Homebuyer credit •House — $2.6 billion to repeal a requirement that a $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit be paid back over time for homes purchased from Jan. 1 to July 1, unless the home is sold within three years. The credit is phased out for couples making more than $150,000.
•Senate — Doubles the credit to $15,000 for homes purchased for a year after the bill takes effect, increasing the cost to $35.5 billion.
Home energy credit •House — $4.3 billion to provide an expanded credit to homeowners who make their homes more energy-efficient in 2009 and 2010. Homeowners could recoup 30 percent of the cost up to $1,500 of numerous projects, such as installing energy-efficient windows, doors, furnaces and air conditioners.
•Senate — Same.
Unemployment •House — No similar provision.
•Senate — $4.7 billion to exclude from taxation the first $2,400 a person receives in unemployment compensation benefits in 2009.
Bonus depreciation •House — $5 billion to extend a provision allowing businesses buying equipment such as computers to speed up its depreciation through 2009.
•Senate — Similar.
Money losing companies •House — $15 billion to allow companies to use current losses to offset profits made in the previous five years, instead of two, making them eligible for tax refunds.
•Senate — Allows companies to use more of their losses to offset previous profits, increasing the cost to $19.5 billion.
Government contractors •House — Repeal a law that takes effect in 2011, requiring government agencies to withhold 3 percent of payments to contractors to help ensure they pay their tax bills. Repealing the law would cost $11 billion over 10 years, in part because the government could not earn interest by holding the money throughout the year.
•Senate — Delays the law from taking affect until 2012, reducing the cost to $291 million.
Energy production •House — $13 billion to extend tax credits for renewable energy production.
•Senate — Same.
Repeal bank credit •House — Repeal a Treasury provision that allowed firms that buy money-losing banks to use more of the losses as tax credits to offset the profits of the merged banks for tax purposes. The change would increase taxes on the merged banks by $7 billion over 10 years.
•Senate — Same.
Bonds •House — $36 billion to subsidize locally issued bonds for school construction, teacher training, economic development and infrastructure improvements.
•Senate — $22.8 billion to subsidize locally issued bonds for school construction, industrial development and infrastructure improvements.
Auto sales •House — No similar provision.
•Senate — $11 billion to make interest payments on most auto loans and sales tax on cars deductible.
Just remember - that STILL ain't the end of the movie - they still gotta blow up the Death Star. :goofy:
There's probably some prick out there that is going to insist that the record in the history books needs to have an asterisk by Franken's name. :pbpt:
I cannot believe there is ANYONE by this point that really gives a damn whether your vote counted or not - at least anyone who isn't getting PAID to give a damn.
Intelligence officials released documents this evening saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was briefed in September 2002 about the use of harsh interrogation tactics against al-Qaeda prisoners, seemingly contradicting her repeated statements over the past 18 months that she was never told that these techniques were actually being used.
In a 10-page memo outlining an almost seven-year history of classified briefings, intelligence officials said that Pelosi and then-Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.) were the first two members of Congress ever briefed on the interrogation tactics. Then the ranking member and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, respectively, Pelosi and Goss were briefed Sept. 4, 2002, one week before the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks....
This coming Monday May 11 H.F. No. 2370 - a bill that would stop the State's efforts to block Minnesotans' access to Internet poker websites is scheduled for a hearing in front of the State House Commerce and Labor Committee.
Please take a moment and call Rep. Rick Hansen today and let them know that you support H.F. No. 2370 and oppose the Department of Public Safety's effort to force ISPs and telecommunications providers to censor the Internet by blocking your access to Internet poker websites.
Call Rep. Rick Hansen today at (651) 296-6828 and ask them to:
**If you get a voice message please leave the message***
* Please support H.F. No. 2370
    * The state should not be censoring the Internet from lawful poker playing
    * Poker is a game of skill and not a crime!
i don't know who your state Rep is...but mine is Rick....
good reason to vote people!!
I need to go back and read that - not enough time at work and alot to read. wow.
thanks for posting it.
I just wanna see it over.
When Gore asked one of his advisors how far he should take the fight to recount all the votes...he stated that just short of the point where even if you win, you can't win. Meaning if you go to far to win you will lose the public's support no matter what.
http://theuptake.org/
I'm glad I voted.
sad that others would think the snl MEAN potty mouth man should run our state.
Sen Harry Reid said Senate race in MN is over as far as he is concerned & Al Franken is the winner. Norm Coleman to file lawsuit in next 24 hours.
I mean, if things get down to the nitty gritty and your vote is the deciding one, people will bicker and squabble about it. Then there's that pesky margin of error... and missing ballots, and recounts, and news coverage, and claims of voter fraud, and lawsuits.. headaches..
Interesting.
The whole thing was a headache but it was done to ensure that all the votes DO count. I think they've done a pretty good job considering you know there is going to be quite a bit of bickering between the two sides.
especially for the winner :smile:
I still get a sense of awe and satisfaction on election day when I slide my ballot into the machine and see the number counter go up.
Stimulus plan
A comparison of the $827 billion economic recovery plan drafted by Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama with a $820 billion version passed by the House. Additional debt costs would add about $350 billion or more over 10 years. Many provisions expire in two years.
=========================================================== Spending Aid to poor and unemployed
•Senate — $47 billion to provide extended unemployment benefits through Dec. 31, increased by $25 a week, and provide job training; $16.5 billion to increase food stamp benefits by 12 percent through fiscal 2011 and issue a one-time bonus payment; $3 billion in temporary welfare payments.
•House — Comparable extension of unemployment insurance; $20 billion to increase food stamp benefits by 14 percent; $2.5 billion in temporary welfare payments; $1 billion for home heating subsidies and $1 billion for community action agencies.
Direct cash payments •Senate — $17 billion to give one-time $300 payments to Social Security recipients, poor people on Supplemental Security Income, and veterans receiving disability and pensions.
•House — $4 billion to provide a one-time additional Supplemental Security Income payment to poor elderly and disabled people of $450 for individuals and $630 for married couples.
Infrastructure • Senate — $46 billion for transportation projects, including $27 billion for highway and bridge construction and repair and $11.5 billion for mass transit and rail projects; $4.6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers; $5 billion for public housing improvements; $6.4 billion for clean and drinking water projects.
•House — $47 billion for transportation projects, including $27 billion for highway and bridge construction and repair and $12 billion for mass transit, including $7.5 billion to buy transit equipment such as buses; and $31 billion to build and repair federal buildings and other public infrastructures.
Health care •Senate — $21 billion to subsidize health care insurance for the unemployed under the COBRA program; $87 billion to help states with Medicaid; $22 billion to modernize health information technology systems; and $10 billion for health research and construction of National Institutes of Health facilities.
•House — $40 billion to subsidize health care insurance for the unemployed under the COBRA program or provide health care through Medicaid; $87 billion to help states with Medicaid; $20 billion to modernize health information technology systems; $4 billion for preventative care; $1.5 billion for community health centers; $420 million to combat avian flu; $335 million for programs that combat AIDS,
sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis.
Education •Senate — $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cuts in education aid and provide block grants; $25 billion to school districts to fund special education and the No Child Left Behind K-12 law; $14 billion to boost the maximum Pell Grant by $400 to $5,250; $2 billion for Head Start.
•House — Similar aid to states and school districts; $21 billion for school modernization; $16 billion to boost the maximum Pell Grant by $500 to $5,350; $2 billion for Head Start.
Energy •Senate — $40 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, including $2.9 billion to weatherize modest-income homes; $4.6 billion for fossil fuel research and development; $6.4 billion to clean up nuclear weapons production sites; $11 billion toward a so-called “smart electricity grid” to reduce waste; $8.5 billion to subsidize loans for renewable energy projects; and $2 billion for advanced battery systems.
•House — $28.4 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, including $6.2 billion to weatherize homes; $11 billion to fund a “smart electricity grid”.
Homeland security •Senate — $4.7 billion for homeland security programs, including $1 billion for airport screening equipment and $800 million for port security.
•House — $1.1 billion, including $500 million for airport screening equipment.
Law enforcement •Senate — $3.5 billion in grants to state and local law enforcement to hire officers and purchase equipment.
•House — Comparable provision.
Taxes
New tax credit •House— About $145 billion for $500 per-worker, $1,000 per-couple tax credits in 2009 and 2010. For the last half of 2009, workers could expect to see about $20 a week less withheld from their paychecks starting around June. Millions of Americans who don’t make enough money to pay federal income taxes could file returns next year and receive checks. Individuals making more than $75,000 and couples making more than $150,000 would receive reduced amounts.
•Senate — The credit would phase out at incomes of $70,000 for individuals and couples making more than $140,000 and phase out more quickly, reducing the cost to $140 billion.
b
•Senate — About $70 billion to spare 24 million taxpayers from being hit with the alternative minimum tax in 2009. The change would save a family of four an average of $2,300. The tax was designed to make sure wealthy taxpayers can’t use credits and deductions to avoid paying any taxes. But it was never indexed to inflation, so families making as little as $45,000 could get significant increases without the change. Congress addresses it each year, usually in the fall.
Expanded child credit •House — $18.3 billion to give greater access to the $1,000 per-child tax credit for the working poor in 2009 and 2010. Under current law, workers must make at least $12,550 to receive any portion of the credit. The change eliminates the floor, meaning more workers who pay no federal income taxes could receive checks.
•Senate — Sets a new income threshold of $8,100 to receive any portion of the credit, reducing the cost to $7.5 billion.
Expanded earned income tax credit •House — $4.7 billion to increase the earned-income tax credit — which provides money to the working poor — for families with at least three children.
•Senate — Same.
Expanded college credit •House — $13.7 billion to provide a $2,500 expanded tax credit for college tuition and related expenses for 2009 and 2010. The credit is phased out for couples making more than $160,000.
•Senate — Reduces the amount that can be refunded to low-income families that pay no income taxes, lowering the cost to $13 billion.
Homebuyer credit •House — $2.6 billion to repeal a requirement that a $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit be paid back over time for homes purchased from Jan. 1 to July 1, unless the home is sold within three years. The credit is phased out for couples making more than $150,000.
•Senate — Doubles the credit to $15,000 for homes purchased for a year after the bill takes effect, increasing the cost to $35.5 billion.
Home energy credit •House — $4.3 billion to provide an expanded credit to homeowners who make their homes more energy-efficient in 2009 and 2010. Homeowners could recoup 30 percent of the cost up to $1,500 of numerous projects, such as installing energy-efficient windows, doors, furnaces and air conditioners.
•Senate — Same.
Unemployment •House — No similar provision.
•Senate — $4.7 billion to exclude from taxation the first $2,400 a person receives in unemployment compensation benefits in 2009.
Bonus depreciation •House — $5 billion to extend a provision allowing businesses buying equipment such as computers to speed up its depreciation through 2009.
•Senate — Similar.
Money losing companies •House — $15 billion to allow companies to use current losses to offset profits made in the previous five years, instead of two, making them eligible for tax refunds.
•Senate — Allows companies to use more of their losses to offset previous profits, increasing the cost to $19.5 billion.
Government contractors •House — Repeal a law that takes effect in 2011, requiring government agencies to withhold 3 percent of payments to contractors to help ensure they pay their tax bills. Repealing the law would cost $11 billion over 10 years, in part because the government could not earn interest by holding the money throughout the year.
•Senate — Delays the law from taking affect until 2012, reducing the cost to $291 million.
Energy production •House — $13 billion to extend tax credits for renewable energy production.
•Senate — Same.
Repeal bank credit •House — Repeal a Treasury provision that allowed firms that buy money-losing banks to use more of the losses as tax credits to offset the profits of the merged banks for tax purposes. The change would increase taxes on the merged banks by $7 billion over 10 years.
•Senate — Same.
Bonds •House — $36 billion to subsidize locally issued bonds for school construction, teacher training, economic development and infrastructure improvements.
•Senate — $22.8 billion to subsidize locally issued bonds for school construction, industrial development and infrastructure improvements.
Auto sales •House — No similar provision.
•Senate — $11 billion to make interest payments on most auto loans and sales tax on cars deductible.
hmmm just wondering how to work the system right now.
probably not.
unemploment probably pays twice as much a month however welfare gives health insurance.
 Minnesota Benefit Programs
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/16/norm-coleman-floated-as-r_n_175224.html
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/minnesota-senate-election-cont.html
Maybe Minnesota will just have to settle with one senate seat until 2012... :goofy:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090407/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_obama_iraq
There's probably some prick out there that is going to insist that the record in the history books needs to have an asterisk by Franken's name. :pbpt:
I cannot believe there is ANYONE by this point that really gives a damn whether your vote counted or not - at least anyone who isn't getting PAID to give a damn.
Hopefully the appeal wraps up before the MN Supreme Court goes on its summer recess in June.
By Paul Kane
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2009/05/cia_says_pelosi_was_briefed_on.html
Intelligence officials released documents this evening saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was briefed in September 2002 about the use of harsh interrogation tactics against al-Qaeda prisoners, seemingly contradicting her repeated statements over the past 18 months that she was never told that these techniques were actually being used.
In a 10-page memo outlining an almost seven-year history of classified briefings, intelligence officials said that Pelosi and then-Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.) were the first two members of Congress ever briefed on the interrogation tactics. Then the ranking member and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, respectively, Pelosi and Goss were briefed Sept. 4, 2002, one week before the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks....
She's such a liar!
[Join: PPA Minnesota Facebook Page]
Let's make our voice heard in support of poker!
This coming Monday May 11 H.F. No. 2370 - a bill that would stop the State's efforts to block Minnesotans' access to Internet poker websites is scheduled for a hearing in front of the State House Commerce and Labor Committee.
Please take a moment and call Rep. Rick Hansen today and let them know that you support H.F. No. 2370 and oppose the Department of Public Safety's effort to force ISPs and telecommunications providers to censor the Internet by blocking your access to Internet poker websites.
Call Rep. Rick Hansen today at (651) 296-6828 and ask them to:
* Please support H.F. No. 2370
    * The state should not be censoring the Internet from lawful poker playing
    * Poker is a game of skill and not a crime!
i don't know who your state Rep is...but mine is Rick....