ST. PAUL, MINN. — The 2008 election is far from over in Minnesota.
A breathtakingly narrow lead in the Senate race -- 215 ballots in favor of incumbent Norm Coleman over challenger Al Franken, out of 2.9 million cast -- has sparked lawsuits, accusations of electoral shenanigans and a Midwestern take on the 2000 hunt for hanging chads in Florida.
State election officials Wednesday began hand-counting the optically scanned ballots because the race's whisper-thin margin triggered a mandatory recount.
In St. Paul, impatient election judges and volunteer observers gathered at 8:30 a.m. in a conference room and listened to Ramsey County Election Manager Joseph Mansky calmly outline the rules.
One ballot should be reviewed every five seconds, and at least 30,000 ballots would be counted each day. Keep an eye out for stray marks. No food or coffee or anything that could spill near the ballots.
Mansky apologized for leaving before the first white box was unsealed. "I've got to go to court," he said. "I'm being sued."
Franken has filed suit to release information on voters in Ramsey County whose absentee ballots were rejected.
Hundreds of lawyers and recently trained "ballot verification" volunteers from Coleman's and Franken's camps were dispatched to more than 100 recount locations to watch election staff members judge every mark, pen stroke and smudge.
The final outcome could be decided by mid-December, though some observers predict the battle could stretch to January if there are more legal challenges.
This theater of curiosity and suspicion could determine the legislative path of President-elect Barack Obama.
Minnesota is one of two undecided Senate races.
If Franken wins, Democrats will have a 59-seat majority, leaving Georgia Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss as the lone obstacle keeping Democrats from their longed-for goal of 60 seats -- the number needed to have filibuster-proof control in the Senate. Chambliss faces a Dec. 2 runoff with Democrat Jim Martin.
"Clearly, the Democrats are getting close to the threshold of 60 seats," said Dan Hofrenning, a political science professor at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. "Each step closer becomes more monumental."
This isn't the first time a high-profile Minnesota race has demanded such a laborious second look.
In 1962, incumbent Gov. Elmer L. Andersen thought he had beaten challenger Karl Rolvaag. The pair battled over the results and a recount for months. Rolvaag was named the winner by 91 votes.
