State Supreme Court rejects crucial Coleman lawsuit

The Minnesota
Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit crucial to Sen. Norm Coleman’s (R)
reelection fortunes, clearing a path for the Board of Canvassers to certify Al
Franken (D) as the state’s next senator.

Mirroring its
reasoning in a previous decision that rejected a Coleman suit on so-called
“duplicate” ballots, the court said that Coleman’s bid to include an additional
650 absentee ballots in the contested Senate race was an issue best suited for
the Board of Canvassers.

{mosads}The ruling
disarms Coleman of one of his last major opportunities to overcome the 225-vote
lead held by Franken after the inclusion of hundreds of absentee ballots disqualified
for no legal reason.

“Today’s ruling,
which effectively disregards the votes of hundreds of Minnesotans, ensures that
an election contest is now inevitable,” said Coleman attorney Fritz Knaak. “The
fact that the Franken campaign now rejects the notion of every valid vote being
counted so they can attempt to declare victory on the basis of a broken
process, and an artificial lead built on double counting of votes should
concern all Minnesotans.”

The board is
expected to certify the 225-vote tally Monday, though Coleman’s campaign has
vowed to file an election challenge based on claims about duplicate ballots and
the additional absentee ballots Coleman wanted to have counted.

“Today, the
Supreme Court once again affirmed the validity of the rules under which this
recount was conducted,” said Franken lead recount attorney Marc Elias. “Minnesotans
have waited a long time for a winner to be declared in this race, and today,
with the last attempt to halt the counting process now having failed, Al Franken
will be declared the winner.”