Gap in Senate recount widens, Coleman up 344 votes

St. PAUL, Minn. -- The hand recount of Minnesota Senate ballots is in its final week, but the results are likely to be inconclusive.

The declaration of a winner will be on hold until thousands of disputed ballots are sorted out.

By Friday, all of the state's 87 counties should be done with their collective review of 2.9 million ballots. A five-member board will gather beginning Dec. 16 to rule on ballot challenges made by Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken.

As of Monday night, Coleman was up 344 votes when Nov. 4 and recounted numbers from precincts are put side by side. About 91 percent of the ballots have gotten a second look.

While Coleman has a cushion, it's hard to say with certainty how big it is. That's because the almost six-thousand combined challenges have skewed each candidate's running total.

Click here to see a disputed ballot from Aitkin County

Click here to see a disputed ballot from Beltrami County

Click here to see a disputed ballot from Cook County

Click here to see a disputed ballot from Crow Wing County

Click here to see a disputed ballot from the city of Hopkins

Click here to see a disputed ballot from Douglas County

Click here to see a disputed ballot from Faribault County

Click here to see a disputed ballot from Kandiyohi County

Click here to see a disputed ballot from Mahnomen County

Click here to see a disputed ballot from Nicollet County

Click here to see a disputed ballot from Olmsted County

Click here to see a disputed ballot from Washington County

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