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View Full Version : NYT - Flip A Coin To Determine Winner in MN Senate Race



red states rule
12-04-2008, 09:44 AM
So what if Al Franken lost the race? So what is new votes for Franken keep being "found" and he is still behind?

As far as the NY Times is concerned, none of that matters. There must be a way for Big Mouth Al to win

So when all else failes, have a coin toss


Not Every Vote Counts

snip

Minnesota’s instruments for counting votes are simply too crude to determine the winner in a race this tight. This is not the state’s fault. In fact, Minnesota’s election laws, procedures and equipment are among the best in the country. The problem is that a voting system that is based on physically recounting chits of paper is inherently error-prone, and in a close election like this, the errors are too large for the process to determine a winner. Even though, at the end of the recount, it will seem as if one candidate has won by a hair, the outcome will really be a statistical tie.

Luckily, Minnesota’s electoral law has a provision for ties. After all the counting and recounting, if the vote is statistically tied, the state should invoke the section of the law that requires the victor to be chosen by lot. It’s hard to swallow, but the right way to end the senatorial race between Mr. Coleman and Mr. Franken will be to flip a coin.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/opinion/04seife.html?_r=1

PostmodernProphet
12-04-2008, 10:10 AM
/shrugs....the vote isn't "statistically tied".....Coleman is "statistically" winning and the NYT is "statistically" whinning.....