Coleman wants more ballots recounted

ST. PAUL, Minn., Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Sen. Norm Coleman's campaign indicated an additional 650-700 ballots should be counted in Minnesota's still-undecided U.S. Senate race.

The incumbent Republican's campaign said it wants the ballots, which weren't identified previously as improperly disqualified, to be counted in addition to the up to 1,350 disputed ballots in his race against Democratic challenger Al Franken, The Hill reported.

Franken, a former comedy writer and performer on Saturday Night Live, leads Coleman by 46 votes, a tally posted the (Minneapolis) Star-Tribune Web site indicated Tuesday.

Franken's campaign said it might agree to include ballots Coleman wants counted if Minnesota's counties independently verify that the new ballots were wrongly disqualified, the Washington political publication said. However, a Franken campaign attorney criticized the Coleman camp for changing its position, noting it initially argued that improperly rejected absentee ballots should not be counted.