Franken's deficit: 236 votes

Al Franken's deficit is down to 236 votes. Norm Coleman’s razor-thin lead over Al Franken keeps getting tighter, and Minnesota still has not started.

Yesterday, Coleman’s lead started at 477 votes, but as of 10:45 a.m. Thursday, it was a 438-vote gap, then at 4:15 pm it jumped up to a 590-vote lead, but then the margin again started to shrink and was back to 336 by 5 pm. Then at 8:45 pm, Al Franken found himself trailing by only 236 votes. One reason why the race has continued to tighten is that Election officials in Buhl, Minn., reportedly went to bed on election night without reporting the tallies for its 550 voters to county officials. Also reporting of results in Duluth was delayed because one precinct, “inundated with hundreds of same-day registrations,” took longer to count.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said the Senate vote totals will continue to move as county election officials double check their work. He said the numbers will continue to fluctuate until the County Canvassing Boards certify the election. The deadline for the county boards to certify the numbers is Monday, November 10th. The counties are required to submit their election reports by November 14th to the Minnesota Secretary of State.

The State Canvassing Board will then meet on Tuesday, November 18th to certify the election. At that point, the board will order a recount which is required by state law.