ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota is preparing to move a seemingly stalemated U.S. Senate election into the tedious process of a statewide recount as it readies an army of workers to sort through nearly 3 million ballots.

Election workers at dozens of sites will examine ballots, one by one, building piles for Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken. A separate stack of disputed ballots will fall to a state board for a final ruling.

By the end of the recount process – set to begin Wednesday and likely extend into December – the public will at least know who got the most votes, even if litigation causes the battle to drag on.

Coleman holds a narrow lead, just 206 votes, over Franken. The near-deadlock triggered the automatic recount.

Minnesota's race looms large in the broader Washington power struggle. Depending on undecided contests in Alaska and Georgia, the Minnesota outcome could determine whether Democrats attain a 60-seat Senate majority that would enable them to overcome Republican filibusters.

The high stakes are creating high anxiety.

“We're just as scared as the campaigns are,” said Patty O'Connor, elections director in Blue Earth County. “We want to make sure everything is how it's supposed to be. The stress levels are a little high.”

On Thursday, the Minnesota secretary of state's office held a 90-minute online training session for the county workers participating in the recount. They answered questions about everything from how close campaign lawyers could stand to the ballot counters (It will be cozy) to how workers should protect ballots during lunch breaks (Have someone guard the ballots at all times).

The recount will play out in city halls, courthouses and, in one case, a civic center usually home to concerts and sporting events.

Both campaigns are planning blanket coverage. Coleman's campaign said it expects to have one or two observers for each counting table and at least one lawyer for each of the 120 anticipated recount sites. Franken's side said it has recruited 1,000 volunteers and 250 lawyers.

Add onlookers from the media and general public and the recount rooms should fill up.

“I'm assuming it's going to be a pretty big spectacle,” said Clay County Auditor Lori Johnson, whose counters have nearly 32,000 ballots to get through.

Pam Fuller, Olmsted County's election chief, reserved the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester so she can have several teams going over 85,000 ballots. The ballots will be brought there by a law enforcement van.

Fuller hopes to finish in a day. Others are preparing for a couple weeks of work, including potential weekend shifts. The state set a Dec. 5 goal for completing the recounts.

During the training session, state elections director Gary Poser drilled down to the most minor details in hopes of ensuring a smooth process. He suggested counties post sign-in sheets at the counting sites and arrange adequate parking. He told them to make sure that the candidates' representatives have credentials from their respective campaigns.

Poser's office also distributed a recount manual that even delves into decorum.

“Always appear in control of yourself and the situation (despite a little natural nervousness),” one part reads.

The situation will surely include ballot challenges by campaign representatives who disagree with the decisions of recount officials. Those ballots will ultimately be taken to the five-member state canvassing board, which will make the final ruling on whether they count, and for which candidate.

Poser told county workers that challenges are allowed only for ballots in which the voter's intent is unclear. State law bars “automatic or frivolous” challenges.

Franken filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking access to data on voters who had their absentee ballots rejected.

“We are not suing to have these in the count,” said Franken's lead attorney, Marc Elias. “We are simply looking for the data so that we can identify people who were legal and lawful voters to ensure their ballots are counted.”

That data might be useful only in a future lawsuit, since it's not clear that ballots found to be improperly rejected could even be used in the recount administered by state election officials.