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Minn. Supreme Court Declares Franken Winner in Senate Race

By Perry Bacon Jr.

The Minnesota Supreme Court today ruled that former Saturday Night Live star Al Franken (D) won his election last November against former senator Norm Coleman (R), potentially completing one of the longest election processes in American history and giving the Democrats an even larger majority in the Senate.

The court ruled today against Coleman, who had argued that the recount that put Franken ahead by 312 votes was improperly conducted and applied different standards to ballots in different counties in the state. The court's opinion says that Franken is entitled to receive the election certificate declaring him the winner. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) said Sunday he would follow the court's mandate, although he has not yet signed the certificate.

Coleman, whose lawyers have in the past suggested he would appeal in federal court if he lost at the state level, has not yet commented on the ruling. He could potentially ask a court to stay the court's ruling until his next appeal.

If Franken is seated, it would give the Democrats a 60-seat majority in the Senate, potentially allowing them to stop Republicans from using the filibuster to slow down controversial bills, although Democrats Ted Kennedy (Mass.) and Robert Byrd (W.Va.) have missed many votes this year because of health issues and might continue to do so.

Franken has not yet commented on the ruling, but congressional Democrats called on Coleman to stop his appeals and Pawlenty to sign the election certificate.

"We've always said Norm Coleman deserved his day in court, and he got eight months," said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "Now we expect Governor Pawlenty to do the right thing, follow the law and sign the election certificate."

Coleman has scheduled a 3 p.m. CT press conference and Franken is scheduled to speak to the media at 4:15 p.m. CT.

The court's unsigned opinion did not include a dissent from any of the five justices who heard the case. The court's decision completes a legal process in Minnesota that started with a legally required recount after the Nov. 4 election, which ended with Coleman narrowly ahead by 206 votes out of almost three million cast. A statewide recount that lasted till January found after counting absentee ballots that had been improperly excluded, Franken was ahead by 225 votes.

Coleman filed a formal contest of the election in January, resulting in a two-month long trial where more absentee ballots were counted, and Franken emerged with a 312 vote lead. Coleman appealed the decision by the district court in April, and the state Supreme Court heard arguments in the case earlier this month.

My One & Only MJ Comment

Enough Already.

Sigh of Relief

Between train wrecks, celebrities dropping out like rain, fighting and dying in the streets of Iran and the threat of War from N. Korea, it was a rough week. But frankly, I was too busy worrying about my naked kids to be concerned with the goings on of the rest of the world. Thankfully, everyone seems OK so far. Both Maus and Jake are eating again with some vigor and though I still don’t have his lab test back and he’s still really thin, I know Jake feels better. Moshe too is doing well, learning to come, stop and walk on command. Jake and Moshe’ managed to eat and sleep in the same room without a challenge this past Sunday, which made the Mama very happy.

My crocheting has greatly diminished since dealing with these cats the last few weeks, but I’m hoping I can pick up the pace here since I’m almost finished with baby stuff. I also am looking forward to a yoga class coming up in two weeks. With all of these 50 year old people dying all of a sudden I think I might want to get more serious about my health. We’ll see how it goes, most of this depends on how early I’m willing to get up in the morning (the class starts at 6 AM). I’ve not considered yoga for weight loss before, but in the past my exercise program were usually cut short because I’ve injured myself. I do stretch before I exercise, but I think I’m not doing it right or long enough. I hate gyms and the idea of being in shorts and a bra as large as I am is not appealing, but this is not a beauty contest and the instructor assures me it will be OK.

It was Jennifer's Fault.

All she had to do was lie to me, not tell me i had credit on my TS member account, encourage me to stick it out just a few more days...

I had lost a bag with most of my addi crochet hooks and notions and I had to replace three badly needed sizes and everyone was making shawls and the Ty-Dye cotton looked so pretty and they fed me iced oatmeal cookies and Cheez-It Crackers... Who could resist that? I should be glad CiCI and Chelette didn't show up for the knitting circle, they would have made me buy the store.

Oh well, let's start again.