There are enough mistakenly-rejected absentee ballots to swing the Minnesota Senate race one way or the other, the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes. At least 358 absentee ballots -- and likely many more -- were not counted, even though the voters apparently did nothing wrong.

The fate of those ballots is hotly contested but unclear.

On Friday, the state canvassing board, made up of four judges and the secretary of state, will decide whether to count the votes on those ballots that election judges mistakenly didn't count on Election Day.

The vote gap between Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken is so thin that including those votes in the recount could tip the election.

The Pioneer Press also has a running scorecard for the recount, as well as a timeline for what lies ahead in the recount process. The Canvassing Board will begin counting challenged ballots Tuesday, and if everything goes according to plan, the next senator from Minnesota will be decided by the end of December.