Al Franken will be the NEXT senator from the great State of Minnesota.
Coleman does not have many options left and again, when you don't have the vote total in your favor, not much you can do.
After a trial spanning nearly three months, Norm Coleman’s attempt to reverse Al Franken’s lead in the recount of the U.S. Senate election was soundly rejected today by a three-judge panel that dismissed the Republican’s lawsuit.
The judges swept away Coleman’s argument that the election and its aftermath were fraught with systemic errors that made the results invalid.
“The overwhelming weight of the evidence indicates that the Nov. 4, 2008, election was conducted fairly, impartially and accurately,” the panel said in its unanimous decision.
In rejecting Coleman’s arguments, the panel said the Republican essentially asked it to ignore Minnesota election requirements and adopt a more lenient standard allowing illegal absentee ballots to be counted.
The panel also rejected Coleman’s comparison of Senate election problems to those in the 2000 presidential race in Florida.
Unlike Florida, Minnesota has statewide standards for absentee voting that are “uniform and explicit and apply in every county and city,” the panel wrote.
What next? Franken likely seated by May or June the latest. Coleman will appeal, but it will be swept quickly away finally by the Minnesota Supreme Court. By this time, Franken will be seated in the senate, remember the senate is not the courts. The only stinker is what Governor Pawlenty will do. If he has any aspirations for a higher office, he needs to accept the decision, sign the certificate along with the Secretary of State, and MOVE ON.
h/t Daily Kos
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