Coleman to File Suit Over Minnesota Recount

Jan. 6, 2009— -- Republican Norm Coleman said today he would file a lawsuit challenging Democrat Al Franken's recount victory in the Minnesota Senate race.

The legal process could take weeks to play out, and while it does, the Senate seat will remain vacant.

"We've gone through the process and we're not yet through it," Coleman said in St. Paul today. "In the interest of having somebody serve with the credibility and the consent of the governed, I think we have to get this right."

The Coleman suit will focus on three key piles of ballots: 654 rejected absentee ballots; an additional 150 ballots from Democratic-leaning areas that the Coleman campaign claims were double counted for Franken; and 130 ballots that were lost after election night but included in the final tally after the recount. The state Supreme Court ruled today that those issues would be better handled in a post-recount lawsuit.

Minnesota Chief Justice Eric Magnuson will appoint a three-judge panel to oversee this next stage.

The state's Canvassing Board declared Franken the winner Monday, two months after Minnesota voters went to the polls. But Franken's win is not official until Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie sign the election certification, which they cannot do while there is an ongoing lawsuit.

Franken, the comedian and former radio host, won the razor-close election recount by 225 votes out of nearly 3 million cast Nov. 4. Speaking in St. Paul Monday, Franken declared victory but acknowledged the potential for an ongoing legal battle.

"After 62 days, after the careful and painstaking hand inspection of nearly 3 million ballots, after hours and hours of hard work by election officials and volunteers across the state, I am proud and humbled to stand before you as the next senator from Minnesota," Franken said. "There may still be additional legal proceedings related to our recount. But I'm now in the business of serving the people of Minnesota."