Al Franken

MPR Photo/Mark Zdechlik

Election Coverage from MPR

Franken campaign still concerned about 'missing' ballots

Al Franken's attorney said today he's concerned about ballots that he says are missing in the Senate recount. The Franken campaign says it's investigating why, in some areas, more ballots were counted on Election Day than were found during the recount. (12/01/2008)

Dispute over rejected absentee ballots continues

The fate of thousands of rejected absentee ballots in the U.S. Senate race could be determined Wednesday when the State Canvassing Board meets to discuss the issue. Democrat Al Franken's campaign is asking the five member board to consider the ballots and whether elections officials made the right decision when they discarded the ballots. (11/26/2008)

Ritchie concerned about growing pile of challenged ballots

The latest official numbers on the Minnesota Senate recount have the pile of contested ballots growing. It now stands at nearly 3,600. (11/25/2008)

Both campaigns claim frivolous challenges in recount

Minnesota's U.S. Senate race recount enters its sixth day Tuesday, with Republican incumbent Norm Coleman still holding a narrow lead over Democratic challenger Al Franken. (11/24/2008)

Election recount could be just the beginning of long battle

Minnesota is entering the second week of the U.S. Senate recount. About two-thirds of the ballots have been recounted, and election officials are working to finish the remaining precincts by a December 5 deadline. But the recount may not end the matter. (11/24/2008)

Senate election outcome may rest with challenged ballots

The number of challenged ballots in the Senate recount has reached a level that has made the slim margin between the two leading candidates meaningless. With more than half of the precincts now recounted, the number of ballots challenged by both Al Franken and Norm Coleman is above the 215 vote margin by which Coleman led Franken at the end of the first count. (11/20/2008)

Voters have second thoughts about first picks

It's like the campaign never ended. Senate candidates Al Franken and Norm Coleman are still raising money, their campaigns are still trading barbs and they have staff and volunteers fanned out across the state to press for advantage in the recount. But there is one thing that's not like the campaign: Minnesotans don't get to vote again. (11/20/2008)

Both candidates lose votes as ballots are challenged

It is day two of what Republican Senator Norm Coleman's campaign has dubbed the "Great Minnesota Recount." The numbers from the first day of the state-mandated Senate race recount show, of the ballots that are not in dispute, both Coleman and Democrat Al Franken lost votes from the initial count. (11/20/2008)

Challenged ballots: You be the judge

It's your turn to be an election official. Decide which candidate gets to count the vote from these ballots, or not. (11/19/2008)

Officials say first day of recount off to smooth start

Local election officials throughout Minnesota said there was a mostly smooth start today to the manual recount of votes in the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken. (11/19/2008)

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

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