Da Hill:
The Minnesota Board of Canvassers certified Democrat Al Franken as winner of the state's Senate race, but incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman's (R) attorneys have vowed to challenge the decision.
After two months of political and legal wrangling by both campaigns since Election Day, the board officially recognized Franken as the victor, marking the latest in a number of dramatic turns of events that have characterized the state's Senate election.
The board certified Franken's 225-vote lead over Coleman, moving the Democrat one step closer to unseating the first-term lawmaker. That tally includes both the hand recount of votes throughout the state, as well as hundreds of absentee ballots that had previously been disqualified for no stated, legal reason.
Coleman's campaign has said it will file an election challenge within the seven days required by Minnesota law. The challenge is expected to revolve around so-called "duplicate" ballots that Coleman alleges were counted twice, as well as an additional 650 disqualified absentee ballots that the incumbent's campaign argues should have been counted. The Minnesota Supreme Court has rejected lawsuits by Coleman on both issues, saying those challenges are better suited to be handled by the Board of Canvassers.
And, of course, earlier in the day, there was this:
The action came hours after the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected a bid by Coleman to have hundreds of rejected absentee ballots considered in the recount, prompting the Coleman campaign to say that an election contest, or lawsuit, "is now inevitable."
The Supreme Court did not issue an opinion on the merits of Coleman's claim that the ballots, from mostly Republican-leaning areas, may have been wrongly rejected, saying he could later pursue an "election contest," or lawsuit, to make his case. Coleman recount attorney Fritz Knaak said the campaign would take that path.
"Given our campaign's unwavering commitment to ensuring that the vote of no Minnesotan is disenfranchised, today's ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court is both disappointing and disheartening," Knaak said in a statement.
He also said: "Today's ruling, which effectively disregards the votes of hundreds of Minnesotans, ensures that an election contest is now inevitable. The Coleman campaign has consistently and continually fought to have every validly cast vote counted, and for the integrity of Minnesota's election system, we will not stop now."
Oh that is just rich. So rich. Anyone remember when dickface Norm Coleman asked Franken to concede the race, even when an automatic recount loomed? Norm Coleman: once a dickface, always a dickface.
Anyway, the Strib has a few more details on the looming legal battle:
An election contest must be filed within seven days. It would be presided over by a three-judge panel appointed by Minnesota Chief Justice Eric Magnuson. An election certificate could not be issued before a contest is completed.
Such a legal showdown could take weeks to resolve. In addition to the Coleman campaign's request to have the absentee ballots reconsidered, a lawsuit also include claims by Coleman that some votes in Democratic-leaning areas were counted twice.
The writing is pretty clearly on the wall here, but it brings me great joy to know that Coleman will spend the foreseeable future agonizing over this painfully close loss. |
