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."

One Minnesota Senator

In his public statement Monday, Franken seemed to push Coleman to abandon his legal challenge to ensure Minnesota has two senators when the new Congress convenes this week.

"Norm has worked hard for this state and this country, and I hope to ask for his help to ensure that Minnesotans can continue to count on receiving excellent constituent services from their two senators without interruption," Franken said.

Speaking on the Senate Floor Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that Franken is the senator-elect from Minnesota, but that Democrats would not seek to seat him today.

"We understand the sensitivity on both sides to an election this close," Reid said. "This is a difficult time for former Sen. Coleman and his family, and he is entitled to the opportunity to concede this election graciously. But we cannot let this drag on forever. I hope that former Sen. Coleman and all of our Republican colleagues will choose to respect the will of the people of Minnesota. They have chosen a new senator, Al Franken, and his term must and will begin soon."

Franken Behind, Now Ahead

Coleman entered the recount Nov. 19 ahead by 215 votes, but state law calls for a recount when the margin of victory is less than 0.5 percent of the total vote.

The Minnesota State Supreme Court dealt Coleman a blow Monday when it rejected a request from his campaign to count 654 additional rejected absentee ballots. The Coleman campaign said before the canvassing board met that the court ruling made a lawsuit inevitable.

"The Coleman campaign has consistently and continually fought to have every validly cast vote counted, and for the integrity of Minnesota's election system, we will not stop now," Coleman attorney Fritz Knaack said in a statement Monday. "The Minnesota Supreme Court has made sure that an election contest will need to be filed quickly in order to ensure that an accurate and valid recount can be achieved."

Franken, a comedian, writer and radio talk show host, is perhaps best known for his stint on "Saturday Night Live," where he played the character of self-help guru Stuart Smalley and was a longtime writer on the show. Franken was recently a political talk-show host on the left-leaning Air America radio network.

Coleman Term Is Over

Coleman served one term in the U.S. Senate after defeating Walter Mondale in 2002. Mondale stepped in as the Democratic candidate that year after two-term Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone was killed in a plane crash 11 days before Election Day.

Coleman's term as senator ended Saturday.