CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
– POLITICS
April 7, 2009 – 3:34 p.m.
Ballot Review Gives Franken Solid Advantage
By Emily Cadei, CQ Staff
Democrat Al Franken ’s lead in Minnesota’s long-disputed Senate race increased to 312 votes Tuesday, making it mathematically impossible for Norm Coleman to win his state trial challenging the election outcome.
A three-judge panel appointed by the state Supreme Court is expected to rule this week that Franken won the race.
Franken’s slim advantage expanded after election officials, acting under court order, opened and counted 351 previously rejected absentee ballots.
At the end of a six-week hand recount, Franken had led Coleman by 225 votes out of 2.9 million cast. The additional ballots were ordered evaluated for validity as part of Coleman’s challenge in state court to the outcome of the recount.
The court still has to resolve whether some ballots were double-counted, as alleged by Coleman, and the handling of ballots that went missing.
But those questions affect fewer than 300 ballots — too few to wipe out Franken’s lead, even if the judges rule in Coleman’s favor.
Franken attorney Marc Elias declared Tuesday’s count showed “Al Franken got the most votes” in the election.
Coleman’s attorneys have already rejected the parameters for the latest count — saying the court’s decision to review fewer than 400 ballots last week would disenfranchise thousands of Minnesota voters.
“We are saddened and disappointed it was only 351” ballots that were counted, said Coleman spokesman and attorney Ben Ginsberg. “It should have been about 10 times more than that.”
Coleman’s legal team initially argued in court that as many as 5,000 absentee ballots were wrongly rejected, but that number was whittled down during the trial to 1,300.
Ginsberg said the campaign will appeal the final ruling to the Minnesota Supreme Court, “unless of course [the judges] see the light,” and reverse their stance. The campaign has 10 days from the date of the ruling to file an appeal.
If the Coleman campaign is not successful in state Supreme Court, it has not ruled out further appeals to federal courts or the U.S. Supreme Court, although it is unclear whether a federal court would hear the case.
Asked whether Coleman was influenced by national Republican leaders to “drag out” the case — as some national Democrats have claimed — Ginsberg said Coleman “has received much support and advice and good cheer from members of the Republican party, but it is Sen. Coleman’s decision.”
For his part, Elias expressed hope that, “By the time Senator Coleman sits down in his home and has to make a decision,” he recognizes that “there will have been no fewer than seven judges who have looked at this and at each stage he has lost votes.”
Comments
The comedian beat the laughingstock.
Norm knows that even if all the rejected ballots were counted, he would still probably lose, and is obviously pursuing this for obstructionist purposes. I wish a judge or other third party could look at all the rejected absentee ballots -- even though they are not legally counted -- and say, "Sorry Norm. Even if you got what you asked for, you'd still lose. Game over." Okay, ain't gonna happen, but I hope after this is all over, we can somehow get a look at those ballots, if for no other reason than to kill the inevitable "stolen election" wingnut talking points.
It's time to move on. The GOP has the legal right to invest as much as they want in battle already lost. However, it doesn't reflect well on the party or Congress in general.
Norm Coleman had the legal right to pursue a recount and a court case. Of course, on election night he didn't think he needed either, so he urged Al Franken to be a good soul and concede gracefully without availing himself of any of those recourses. We would ahve had no recount at all if it had not been so close that it was statutorially mandated. Now we are beyond the mandate, and into the area of personal decisions on whether to concede or go oin. As many have said, Norm is not following his own advice, sort of like a televangelist caught at the local brothel. As long as he has funding Norm can draw this out further, and as long as it affects the closely balanced makeup of the Senate Norm will have all the money he needs. The telling question will be whether there is any political future in doing so. The longer this is drawn out, and the more irritated those critical independent swing voters become, the more it becomes clear that Norm has already conceded that he has no political future in Minnesota, so there is nothing to lose by playing the pawn for the GOP. They must be promising him employment for life when he finally loses all the appeals.
Republicans don't have to have Coleman be re-elected, they just need to prevent Franken from being seated to win in this contest. They'll work to drag this out for 6 years.
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