Basically, the court will only review about 400 ballots.

So what kinds of ballots will be counted, and what processes went into determining this?

Both campaigns submitted lists of ballots that they said they’d proven were legal and ought to be counted — and here’s what the court thought of them:

“Upon the Court’s initial review, it became apparent that the parties’ spreadsheets identifying the relevant exhibits were inadequate and unreliable. This required the Court to complete an exhaustive review of all the records and documents submitted by either party throughout the course of the entire trial.”

The court thus reviewed:

“…19,181 pages of filings, including pleadings, motions and legal memoranda from the parties; 1,717 individual exhibits admitted into evidence; and testimony from 142 witness examinations, including election officials from 38 Minnesota counties and cities and 69 voters who appeared and testified in defense of their ballots. The trial evidence comprised exhibits offered in three-ring binders that, when stacked, equaled over 21 feet of paper copies.”

Franken went into the trial ahead by 225 votes. Not all of the 400 votes will be counted, and it’s unlikely that even if the votes break for Coleman that it will be enough. And there’s reason to believe they will actually break for Franken, expanding his lead.

Next up is the appeal, but I’m wondering if the Democrats in the Senate will take some action to seat Franken. Coleman is rumored to be a candidate for Michael Steele’s replacement as head of the RNC by the time the party gets around to booting Steele.  By keeping Franken out of the Senate as long as he has, he’s no doubt ingratiated himself with those who can put him there.

Addendum: Coleman will appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court, and after that to the Federal Courts, and his attorney isn’t even hiding the fact that the whole point is to delay certification to keep Franken out of the Senate for as long as they can.

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