NEW ULM - Two area counties began their part of the statewide recount Wednesday and more counties are starting their efforts today.
Election officials in Redwood and Sibley counties recounted ballots cast in the Nov. 4 general election. Nicollet and Watonwan counties will start recounts today and Nicollet County's recount is also scheduled for Friday. Brown County will recount on Monday.
Republican incumbent Norm Coleman carried the Nov. 4 general election vote in Redwood County. He received 3,641 votes. DFLer Al Franken received 2,453 votes.
In the Redwood County recount, Coleman received one more vote - the recount total is 3,642 votes for him - than Coleman did in the general election.
Franken also got one more vote than he did on the night of the general election.
None of the ballots cast in Redwood County were challenged by either candidate.
Coleman also took Sibley County on Nov. 4. He received 3,498 votes to Al Franken's 2,158 votes.
The recount tallied the same number of ballots for Coleman as in the general election. Franken lost two votes in the recount.
A representative of Franken's campaign challenged one ballot in Sibley County on Wednesday. Two ballots in Sibley County were challenged by Coleman's campaign.
As each county in Minnesota starts and finishes its recount, it will transmit its results to the Minnesota Secretary of State's office in St. Paul. The process will be just like the general election, except results won't be posted to the Secretary of State's homepage until after 8 p.m.
The results will include the tally of uncontested votes for U.S. Senate candidates, a tally of the other uncontested votes and a tally of the challenged ballots.
The data on the webpage will not be official, but it will be based on the recount summary statements provided to both campaigns. The numbers on the webpage will stay unofficial until the State Canvassing Board certifies them. The board is scheduled to meet on Dec. 16.