Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman holds a 215-vote lead over Democratic challenger Al Franken, and a hand recount is set to begin tomorrow, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The difference is well within the one-half percentage point required to trigger an automatic hand recount, which Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said he was "absolutely" certain will begin Wednesday morning despite the last-minute challenge.

The Franken campaign filed a brief Monday asking the Canvassing Board to consider including improperly rejected absentee ballots in today's official tally. Granting that request would make it practically impossible to proceed to the recount on Wednesday.

However, the state attorney general's office later issued a three-page opinion requested by Ritchie that said the board's job today is purely administrative, not to determine the eligibility of a voter or whether absentee ballots were properly accepted.

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