Lawrence, Jacobs2018-10-082018-10-082008-11-20https://hdl.handle.net/11299/200522The recount in the U.S. Senate race between Republican Senator Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken begins after a lively debate about what seemed like large changes in the vote count since Election Day and concerns of a “bias” that has unfairly advantaged Franken. Coleman’s lead has declined from a 762 vote margin on the morning following Election Day to a 215 vote advantage in the official count. Why are the vote tabulations changing? Why are they consistently changing in a way that hurts Coleman rather than being evenly distributed? A study of the change between the initial vote count and the official results posted by the Minnesota Secretary of State’s results for the 2000, 2006, and 2008 U.S. Senate elections reveal four critical findings that may provide some perspective on the adjustments to the Coleman and Franken tallies.ensenaterecountReport