Earlier today, the Franken campaign made great hay of being ahead in the U.S. Senate recount by 22 votes. They use a method where they allocate ballot challenges by judges' original allocation to each candidate.

Now, word from Minneapolis means Al's plus-22 might be a minus-22.

The PiPress' Jason Hoppin says officials deducted a net 44 votes from Franken Wednesday when it was discovered ballots were run through a counting machine twice. The 44-vote demerit more than wipes out Franken's 37-vote gain in Maplewood Tuesday.

Obviously, the small numbers are critical in a close Senate race, but I can't help wondering about your average City Council contest. Races within a half-percent get recounted there, too, but I wonder if Maplewood's 171 found ballots, or Minneapolis's 129 overcounted ones could swing a race that initially falls outside that margin.