Al Franken

MPR Photo/Mark Zdechlik

Election Coverage from MPR

Who's paying for the Senate trial?

As Norm Coleman's election lawsuit enters its seventh week, court expenses and trial-related costs for counties around Minnesota are increasing. (03/08/2009)

Senate candidates still raking in cash

As the Senate election trial continues Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman are aggressively trying to add to the more than $11 million dollars they've raised since Election Day. (03/05/2009)

In break for Coleman, panel reverses order on poll worker testimony

The judges reversed their order that struck out testimony of Pamela Howell, a Minneapolis poll worker who claimed to witness errors that could have caused double-counting of votes. (02/26/2009)

Appeals may delay Pawlenty's signature on election certificate

It isn't clear when the winner of the senate election will get a certificate allowing him to join the U.S. Senate. (02/24/2009)

Coleman moves to preserve information from counted ballots

Republican Norm Coleman's lawyers want the court to preserve identifying information about some of the absentee ballots tallied in the closing hours of the recount. (02/20/2009)

Coleman, Franken clash over absentee considerations

Lawyers for Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman took widely opposing views on which standard the three-judge panel hearing the Senate election case should use to count absentee ballots. The court held a special hearing Thursday on streamlining the number of ballots under consideration. (02/12/2009)

U.S. Senate recount panel could make moves to shorten trial

The three-judge panel announced it will change the court schedule for the next three days in hopes of streamlining the election contest trial between Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken. (02/12/2009)

Recount trial continues, one ballot at a time

Attorneys for Norm Coleman spent the morning going through ballots, one by one, with Washington County top election official. (02/04/2009)

Recount trial judges limit Coleman's absentee request

In a key ruling, the three-judge panel hearing Minnesota's senate election contest says it will allow Republican Norm Coleman's campaign to introduce about 4,800 rejected absentee ballots into the trial for consideration. (02/03/2009)

Franken and Coleman have raised millions for recount

Since last November's election the campaigns of Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken have collected a total of nearly $6.4 million dollars to help finance their recount operations. (02/02/2009)

Candidate snapshot

Party: DFL

Biography

Date of Birth: 05/21/1951

Place of Birth: New York, N.Y.

Education: BA, General Studies, Harvard University, 1973

Positions Held: Founder, Midwest Values PAC

Business/Professional Experience: Host, The O'Franken Factor, Air America Radio, 2004 -2006; Served as a Fellow with Harvard's Kennedy School of Government at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, 2003; Writer, Saturday Night Live, 1973-1980, 1985-1995

Religion: Jewish

Resources

Official campaign site

Tools

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