The state Canvassing Board is expected to announce Al Franken as the winner of the Senate election in Minnesota. A meeting was scheduled for today (Monday) for the board to declare the candidate who gained the most overall votes from nearly 3 million ballots cast. According to the latest data, Mr. Franken had a 225-vote lead over Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

"At the moment, Franken has a 225-vote lead," said Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a Democrat who oversaw the process, Reuters reported.

However, the announcement doesn’t end the race. The announcement of the winner is followed by a seven-day waiting period during which an election certificate is completed. If any lawsuit is filed against the candidate during that period, he won’t be certified until the case is settled in court.

Mr. Coleman claimed there were irregularities that resulted in an advantage to Mr. Franken, a Democrat. The Republican candidate hasn’t ruled out taking the issue to court. Coleman’s campaign has a petition pending before the state Supreme Court which claims that 650 ballots were improperly rejected and not forwarded by officials for counting.

Unless the Supreme Court orders more ballots to be counted, Minnesota’s Canvassing Board will be asked on Monday to certify Mr. Franken as the winner of the November 4 contest.

However, Mr. Coleman is likely to challenge the result. This means that State Supreme Court’s chief justice will appoint three judges to investigate the issue. Mr. Coleman’s campaign claims that hundred of absentee voters were "disenfranchised," while others were double-counted.

"We remain convinced that this process is broken, and as a result, the numbers being reported will not be accurate or valid,” said Cullen Sheehan, Coleman's campaign chief.