The Minnesota process indicates that the decision should be a coin flip in the case of a tied race. If you want to argue 'statistical tie' then said coin flip should really take place instead of a re-vote.

Those don't happen here in Minnesota, but it has gotten people talking a lot about instant runoff voting. Here, it just gets recounted until an ultimate decision - a governor's race in the 1960s went for many months before a final decision. The State Canvassing Board, made up of the Secretary of State (a Dem) and four judges (relatively conservative) will decide on all challenged ballots.

There's certainly an aspect that PR-wise the Coleman people wanted to make sure their lead was perceived as wide enough to be substantial. However, unlike Florida there is generally a lot more integrity at the levels of the government that would have to be subverted in order to cheat directly.

Over here @ the day job we have a special news page set up for recount news, enjoy!
http://www.politicsinminnesota.com/us-senate-recount-news
--
Hongpong.com

would hand the Repugs another chance to cheat. The rules of the game should not change after the main event has been held.

I think that proportional representation is better than what we have, and that instant-runoff voting is better than what we have, but holding an unscheduled do-over in the case of a photo finish is playing into the hands of the least scrupulous elements of our political culture.

All the treachery that the entire country's Republican syndicate can come up with would be brought to bear in the case of a Minnesota runoff.

four years ago, and I understand that a lot of Seattle lawyers, mostly Dem, are in the Twin Cities now.

I say any contest this close is an automatic runoff, not an occasion for lawyer overkill. It *is* a statistical tie; coin flips are for sports, not elections.

Tom Robinson