ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The largest-ever recount in Minnesota history has more than just voters in the state biting their nails.

An army of election workers was to begin a statewide recount Wednesday of more than 2.9 million ballots to determine a winner between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.

Minnesota's race looms large in the broader Washington, D.C., power struggle. Depending on another undecided contest in Georgia, the Minnesota outcome could determine if Democrats attain a 60-seat majority that would enable them to overcome Republican filibusters.

The Minnesota recount is required under state law because the votes cast for Coleman and Franken differed by less than one-half of 1 percent. The incumbent Coleman's 215-vote lead heading into the recount translates to 0.008 percent.

By the end of the tedious recount process -- expected to extend well into December -- the campaigns and the public will at least know who got the most votes, even if litigation causes the battle to drag on.

The race grew in significance Tuesday when Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history, narrowly lost his reelection bid in Alaska. His defeat by Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich gives Democrats 58 seats, when two independents who align with Democrats are included.

Minnesota's Canvassing Board, while signing off Tuesday on the manual recount, also postponed a decision on how to handle rejected absentee ballots, wanting more time to consider arguments over the absentee ballots. Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said they'd convene again next week, before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Franken is pressing to include absentee ballots his campaign says were rejected on technicalities. Campaign lawyer David Lillehaug argued the board has the power to add them to the count.

''They have a right to have official mistakes corrected and their votes counted. Not later, but now,'' he said of voters in that situation. ``This board has the full authority, and indeed we submit, the obligation to do exactly that.''

Coleman's campaign contends that rejected ballots should be kept from the recount and considered only if the election result winds up in court.

''There is no precedent for what's being requested of this body by the Franken campaign and we see no reason why a different procedure should be followed at this late juncture in our history,'' said Fritz Knaak, Coleman's lead attorney.

Separately, the Franken campaign has sued to obtain the names of voters with invalidated absentee ballots. A hearing in that case was scheduled for Wednesday.

Coleman's campaign said it expects to have one or two observers for each counting table plus at least one lawyer for all anticipated recount sites. Franken's side said it has recruited 1,000 volunteers and 250 lawyers.

The recount will be done in more than 100 sites across the state over the next 2 ½ weeks. On Dec. 16, the canvassing board will reconvene to rule on disputed ballots and certify the election.

The five-member canvassing board -- made up of the secretary of state, two Supreme Court justices and two district judges -- adopted a 16-point plan for the recount. It covers the rules for challenging ballots and procedures for securely storing ballots that are disputed.

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