She Said 'Former'

With the expiration of his Senate term yesterday at noon, and the doom and gloom prospect following the relative completion of the recount, PiPress reporter Stassen-Berger states (emphasis mine):

More than 930 mistakenly rejected absentee ballots have now been counted in the Minnesota U.S Senate recount and they've added 176 votes to Democrat Al Franken's total, giving him a lead of 225 votes.

Franken had held a 49-vote lead over former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman before the absentee ballots, which election officials mistakenly rejected on Election Day, were tallied. The ballots were counted by state officials today.

Tomorrow it may become official, but the process isn't over yet. The candidate who carries the certificate of election to Washington DC will be my Senator, and there are a few barriers in the way for either of them to have that luxury just yet.

Flash