Likely senator: Al Franken was recently certified as the winner after a recount gave him a 225-vote margin. Legal challenges from Republican Norm Coleman are expected to last for at least a couple of months. (Carlos Gonzales/Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Minnesota Senate race becomes court fight
The contest will continue, but Democrat Al Franken’s win seems secure.
By Amanda Paulson | Staff writer/ January 11, 2009 edition
Reporter Amanda Paulson discusses the latest developments in the Minnesota US Senate race between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.
Chicago
Even as the case of one unseated senator moves toward resolution, the other looks to be heading into a protracted legal battle.
Roland Burris, Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s pick from Illinois, seems likely to be seated quickly, as Senate leaders backed away last week from their refusal to acknowledge anyone chosen by Governor Blagojevich, who was impeached Friday.
But in Minnesota, where Al Franken holds a 225-vote lead over incumbent Norm Coleman, according to the recount certified earlier this month by the State Canvassing Board, Mr. Franken is now defending that lead in court. By Minnesota law, Franken can’t get an election certificate until all legal challenges are settled. The last time the state had a major recount, in the 1962 gubernatorial race, it wasn’t finalized until mid-March. Most observers expect the uncertainty this time to last at least as long.
“At this point, we’re probably looking at a twisty, turny legal battle that will involve decisions by the special judicial body being set up in Ramsey County, along with appeals to both the Minnesota and the US Supreme Court,” says Larry Jacobs, a political scientist at the University of Minnesota’s Center for the Study of Politics and Governance.
The margin separating the two contestants after the recount is miniscule, given the nearly 3 million cast, but Professor Jacobs notes that the number of ballots that are being challenged in the lawsuits is also quite small, making it unlikely that Mr. Coleman will garner many new votes. “I’m struggling to see how this pans out for Senator Coleman,” says Jacobs. “It feels a bit like a Greek tragedy, where you know the outcome.”
At one point, Coleman’s prospects seemed brighter. Immediately after the election, he declared victory with an unofficial lead of 725 votes and urged Franken, the former “Saturday Night Live” comedian, to forego a recount.
But through the painstaking recount process, in which every vote was examined in the presence of campaign representatives, and some 900 wrongly rejected absentee ballots were counted, more Franken votes surfaced.
Now, Coleman’s challenges are focusing on specific groups of ballots, including 654 absentee ballots that his campaign believes were improperly rejected, 150 votes that were allegedly double-counted, and 133 lost ballots that were still included in the recount.
But if those 654 absentee ballots – which have already been examined and rejected several times – are included, that might allow other absentee ballots to be reconsidered. Any of the pools of contested ballots, moreover, would yield votes for both contestants.
“The problem for Coleman at this point is that the burden of proof is on him,” says Steven Schier, a political scientist at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. Still, he notes, “the court can look at all sorts of controversies that the canvassing board could not.”
Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page is deciding how to select a three-judge panel that will rule on the challenges. The panel will have the power to conduct further investigations and reexamine all evidence.
For now, Franken “is spending his time getting ready to serve as soon as he’s sworn in,” says Andy Barr, a campaign spokesman, dismissing Coleman’s lawsuit as “utterly meritless.”
Coleman’s campaign didn’t return calls, but in a statement after the recount tally was certified, he said, “we are filing this contest to be absolutely sure that every valid vote was counted and no one’s vote was counted more than anyone else’s.”
Despite the razor-thin vote margin, the recount has been relatively free of charges of partisanship or corruption.
“There wasn’t a sense of a Katherine Harris moment,” says Jacobs, referring to the controversial secretary of state in Florida’s 2000 presidential election recount.
But already, the recount has sparked calls for reform. Some want runoff elections to be held in close races, while others are calling for better training of election officials and ways to clarify and simplify the balloting and counting processes.
“The tragedy of this whole thing is that random error produces a senator. Whoever wins is an accident,” says Schier. “You don’t want a system where something like this can happen.”
But as prolonged and frustrating as the process has been, Jacobs notes, “this has been the mother of all teaching moments about democracy and the importance of voting.”
Comments
2. franz ferdinand | 01.11.09
Al Gore had the majority vote, but not the majority of delegates, and if you were to say that, then Franken shouldnt have called a recount in the first place
3. Joe the Woodhauler | 01.11.09
Franken didn’t order a recount. Under Minnesota law, if the difference is less than one half of one percent, as was the case in this election, the state orders a mandatory recount.
4. Sore Loserman | 01.11.09
It’s now time for Norm Coleman to “get over it.” Al Franken has won the race and Coleman needs to fold up his tent and leave, the citizens of the State and the entire country needs to be placed above the petty Coleman effort to delay the inevitable — he’s lost and, as I said, needs to “get over it.”
5. Ed | 01.11.09
Well … some elections are extremely close and every vote does count. It is too glib to say that a candidate winning a razor-thin majority did it by “accident.” That candidate did after all get a few more votes.
This whole thing is over unless Coleman can conclusively prove fraud or significant error. I doubt that. He should know when to fold.
6. Democratsareliars | 01.11.09
Democrtas are such lying scum. When it’s ademocrtas running they want recount after recount. But heaven forbid if a Republican demand the same.
Let’s revist another example of how Democrats are liars and hypocrits, shall we:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002129049_webrecount23.html
7. whoisit | 01.12.09
Once again, some very uneducated comments attempt to make news. Why should Minnesotans accept the unacceptable about legit voting percentages, especially about the legal aspects of state voting laws? How about the absentee ballots? Can’t people just count? There’s the education system showing it’s true colors…along with some of these comments. Go Al!
9. Animal | 01.12.09
Al Gore had the majority of the votes (50,999,897 to 50,456,002) and a 266-246 majority of electoral votes (delegates are in the primaries). It was Bush, as in Bush v. Gore, who litigated his way to Florida’s 25 additional electoral votes.
As a Floridian, I commend Minnesota for recounting all the votes this time. This is something Florida should have done (and Gore would have won http://www2.norc.org/fl/articles.asp).
Coleman may indeed have a flimsy case, but I commend Minnesota for doing things in such a decent and orderly manner.
11. Stecxjo | 01.12.09
To Democratsareliars
They’ve had the recount. You are talking about a re-recount aren’t you?
And, by the way, how hypocritical is it now for Coleman not to concede when he asked Franken to do just that — before the recount.
You are not being consistent in your criticism — one of the signs of hypocrisy, as you might be aware.
12. Dakke | 01.12.09
Norm Coleman won the election. Look at how they recounted the ballots, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,470892,00.html It was a joke.
As for Al Gore, he didn’t win. He stopped the recount when it became clear that he was losing that as well.
13. George | 01.12.09
Republicans are so “jacked up” on the Fox News Heroin they can’t see the truth when it slaps them in the face. Some of them still think the most incompetent president was a great leader. He shouldn’t even be on a “liter” of milk. The days of the Fox distortion are over. Lets lead from the middle.
14. chris k | 01.12.09
It would be nice if Coleman would concede, given that he is now apparently unlikely to prevail in court, and pursuing this challenge just delays seating a Senator for Minnesota.
At the same time, Franken should recognize (as should Coleman, if he had won) that this was essentially a tie. Virtually just as many people voted against him as for him. Not much of a mandate, and he should reflect that with some humility.
15. Tom from Colorado | 01.12.09
Norm Coleman was the incumbent. He had all the advantages of incumbency. Al Franken is known as a comedian. If, after being Senator for 6 years, all the incumbent can do is tie a comedian, I think he should concede. (And I’d think the same if the party affiliations were reversed.)
Having said that, elections this close, with the number of ballots in dispute larger than the margin of victory, have a negative effect on people’s confidence in the honesty and fairness of the system. For that reason, it would be beneficial to say that any race where the margin of victory is less than some number or less than the number of disputed and rejected ballots require a runoff election to settle the race.
16. Mike the Law Professor | 01.12.09
I’m not big on either candidate and reside in a state 1,500 miles from Minnesota, but that link provided by Dakke that references a Minneapolis Star Tribune article is shocking, I can’t believe the voting board decided many of those ballots in Franken’s favor–it’s absolute fraud.
17. mike | 01.12.09
Dakke: Fox shows less than a dozen ballots. Franken is ahead by over 200 votes.
Even if all those ballots go to Coleman, Franken still wins. And if there were more ballots like these Fox would show them.
Coleman lost.
Don’t dispair. You’ll look back on the 2008 election as “the good old days.”
@ repub Senators are retiring in 2010. Plus the Repubs have 3 more seats to defend.
The dems should have at least 60 seats then
With a little from Republican Democratsareliars” the dems could get close to 67.
So dems-r-liars could up your idiotic name calling. Look what it’s done to the GOP.
Can’t wait for 2010
18. Bryan | 01.12.09
I agree with mike. The vote counting was just a mess. and to George up above, who should we trust with our news, the Clinton News Network? I agree that Fox is very biased, but so are all the other news groups in the world. If a news group was not biased, they would not have anything to talk about.
19. J Rome | 01.12.09
6. Democratsareliars |gave this Seattle Times site to see that “…Democrtas are such lying scum.” and “… Democrats are liars and hypocrits.”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002129049_webrecount23.html
Well I did and I would recommend it to all who think like Democratsareliars. Boy was he wrong I read the Seattle Times and saw nothing like what is going on in Minnesota. coldman had said he would not go to the end, court, and he did. coldman wanted Franken to accept his, coldman’s 725 votes and reject a recount even thought the law did not give Franken that right. The lieing, scum, hypocrits is on the other food the right wing one. Miss spelling not mine!!!
20. John C. | 01.12.09
Al Franken is a joke period. He should just re-joined SNL with Tina Fey and continue to make people laugh their hearts out on Saturday Night Live. I guess voters at Minnesota thinks elected officials are a joke as they did in electing Jesse Ventura as governor back in 2000 and now close to electing Al Franken as the junior senator representing Minnesota. The extreme cold weather this winter must be having a “brain freeze” effect for voters in Minnesota! Minnesotans, there is still a glimmer of hope to wake up and smell the coffee. Are you sure you want a former comedian to represent you state in DC??????????????
21. GOPvotersSuck | 01.12.09
All corporate news is biased and unfortunately all ov it favors the right. I watch unbias, independent news, none of that corporate Conservative-Facist garbage. I hope that Obama does not close Guitmo, I hope he declares amm republicans enemies of the state and ships them off to Guitmo and other such camps. In ordee to protect our democracy and freedom we need to dispose of these neo-con facists for ever!
22. soccer hooligan | 01.12.09
Why can’t Franken be a senator when the biggest joke has been president the last eight years?
23. menckenlite | 01.13.09
Al “George Soros” Franken demands to be certified now. Without Soro’s money where would the SNL comic be?
24. Pat C. | 01.13.09
Why is everyone making such an issue that Franken was an SNL comedian? Steve Largent was a NFL receiver before spending 8 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Franken is also an accomplished author and researcher. He has been publishing pointed political commentary for many years (it is funny, too). Unlike many political “comedians,” however, he nutted up and threw his hat in the ring.
Maybe some of you sour grapers should stop complaining about the way things are and step up to change it.
Or does an SNL comedian have bigger cahones than you?
25. rosanne ehrlich | 01.13.09
I’m getting annoyed at hearing Al Franken described as “just a comedian.” He was also a talk show host on which he was a voice of reason - always a progressive Democrat but never strident, listening thoughtfully and respectfully to those with whom he disagreed as well as to his supporters. By the way, during the most dangerous years of this misbegotten war in Iraq, Al Franken went several times to entertain the troops! He’s a quality person. I’m happy Minnesotans will be able to find that out. He will represent them well!
26. Brad | 01.13.09
Since the margin of victory in this election is so close, ie they are virtually 50/50, wouldn’t it be less costly and probably more easily accepted to have the two candidates cut cards with the high card winning the seat.
27. infinitewisdom4u | 01.13.09
I see michael kennedy and animal jumped right in with twisting history to be something it isn’t. Gore was in the lead with only a small percentage of the votes counted in FL when the state was prematurely called for Gore. Then when more votes came in the numbers pointed to Bush. When it was over, a recount was needed. The Dems tried to pull a selective recount in places they could pull votes out of their butt. Bush rightly pointed out that the vote recount, as applied to ballots, was arbitrary and without standards, essentially asking for a fair recount (like Coleman is doing). The FL state supreme court changed the rules and the guidelines in order for the dems to float some new votes in for gore. The US Supreme Court told them they couldn’t change the rules in the middle of the recount. It got uglier when the state supreme court decided to lock horns and make new rules that were clearly disadvantagous to the republicans. The US Supreme Court shut them down and then the whining and crying of making every vote count, except for the military and those in predominantly republican strongholds.
Those pulling for the hate-filled comedian either are unaware of, or are happily willing to gloss over, the obvious vote counting fraud and partisan decision making of the canvassing board that has taken place during the recount.
What it really comes down to though is how a pathetic, almost psychotic, hate-filled comedian managed to get this far. Either Coleman ran a very poor race, or the voters of Minnesota have no standards for selecting their representation.
Wait, Minnesota went with Obama also. That clears it up a lot.
28. JIm | 01.14.09
To Dukke
Al Gore did not stop the recount in Florida. He requeste a complete recount of all counties. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of George Bush’s request to stop the recounts altogether. Scalia’s opinion: “Ruling in favor of Al Gore would do irreparable harm to George Bush.” And look at what we’ve got now. AND the ruling stipulated that it was not to be taken as a precedent. The first and probably last and only time a ruling will NOT be a precedent for future court cases.
30. Mr RAG | 01.14.09
Well, as someone noted elsewhere, Norm Coleman lost to a wrestler, beat a dead guy, and lost to a comedian. In view of that, I’m not sure his career path should be elective office. But I digress. Those of us who paid attention to the Florida debacle of 2000 know that the Minnesota recount has been a model of fairness and consistency. I’m a Franken supporter, but here’s what I think: Take as long as necessary to resolve every legal challenge Norm’s lawyers can come up with. Audit the election backward and forward and from side to side until Norm and the brainless, illiterate supporters of his who have posted here are completely satisfied that every single solitary valid vote has been counted. Whatever it takes, do it. Then, and only then, allow Mr. Franken to assume the senate seat he won fair and square. Al can wait, I can wait, Minnesota can wait, and the country can wait.
31. Jo | 01.14.09
“Democrtas are such lying scum. When it’s ademocrtas running they want recount after recount. But heaven forbid if a Republican demand the same.”
Democrats did not ask for a recount. Not once. It was required by law.
You lost. Get over it. And try to be a good sport.
32. John C. | 01.14.09
You are absolutely right, Minnesotan can’t wait for Al the “Joker” just like Gotham City. Except Gotham City got Bathman and Minnesota got Mr. Rag and Co.
33. Abe L. | 01.15.09
Norm lost to a professional wrestler. Now he likely will lose to a comedian.
I guess Norm just can’t win a major election unless his opponent dies.
34. Voting System | 01.15.09
Many posted the idea of a runoff, since the vote was so close. The State of MN could easily establish this if the state decided it wanted to rule by “majority,” (50%+1) instead of plurality (most votes). Look no further than the State of Georgia during this last cycle. GA election law states that any candidate who does not receive 50%+1 must go through a run-off. There was a Libertarian candidate running for US Senate in GA who siphoned off enough votes to keep Saxby Chamblis from getting 50%+1. The same was true in Minnesota (there were multiple Third Party candidates running for the seat). Either bar Third Party candidates from seeking office in MN, or switch to majority voting if you don’t like the outcome.
35. Bryan Dawson | 01.15.09
Norm Coleman, on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008 suggested that Al Franken concede the U.S. Senate race to “begin the healing process.” “The prospects of overcoming 725 votes is extremely, extremely, extremely, extremely remote. If you ask me what I would do, I would step back,” said Coleman.
Coleman hasn’t stepped back. Coleman then asked Franken to waive his right to a recount, which under Minnesota state law, is automatically conducted when margins are so thin.
Now that Coleman is behind, he wants his own re-re-count. Let each of them seek a validation however they want it. We all have to stop being “Republican” or “Democrat” when it comes to protecting our right to vote and be counted. Unfortunately, it’s pathetically partisan people like “democratsareliars” that have been voting in past elections and yielded an idiot for President like George Bush and we all are paying the price.
36. ty | 01.15.09
how about all those votes they were finding in the trunks of cars , in order to get franken down to 227 votes behind , so they could request a recount, if coleman won on election night , then why would he request a recount hmmm
37. Chris W | 01.15.09
Ty,
The “32 votes in the trunk of a car” rumor was started by members of the Coleman campaign in early November. It was quickly debunked, but Fox news and the WSJ continued to spread the rumor for several days after even the Coleman campaign backed away from it. It seems to still be working almost 2 months later.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200811130007
PS Fox News and the WSJ have claimed in numerous articles that there were more votes than voters in 25 precincts. Can anyone supply some evidence of this? The Coleman campaign only lists 2 precincts as having more votes than voters in their lawsuit, so I’m sure that they would love to know the other 23.
38. Chris W | 01.16.09
Ty,
One more clarification, most of Franken’s gains from when he was down by 725 (around 6 AM on the morning after the election) to when he was down by 215 (going into the recount) were the result of fixing 3 typos in the original election reporting (although there were lots of other smaller corrections, but these 3 had the most impact). One precinct reported Franken getting 27 votes on election day. When they double checked the numbers a few days later (as is standard election practice for all precincts) they realized that Franken actually received 273 votes, so Franken gained 246 votes. There were 2 other precincts where they discovered that they had dropped the hundreds column off and Franken picked up 100 votes in each precinct.
Of course, Fox News and the WSJ report have a different, fair and balanced, way of reporting this… “100 new votes found in one heavily democratic precinct, and ALL of them went to Franken!!!!! What are the odds that all these votes could go to Franken??!! and not a single increase in the vote for Obama!! I could see 60/40 but this is statistically impossible!! They are stealing the election!!”
39. Michael Koch | 01.16.09
What is astonishing in reading all of these comments is how sharp the partisan hatred is on both sides. Rather than looking at this in a reflective and complex manner many writers spin of gross over generalizations and insults. It is more like cheering for one’s favorite sports team than deciding who is going to being one of 100 very select people making decisions about the largest economy and military on the planet. Whenever I want to be saddened by the state of humanity I read comments like many of those posted here. To those who post such comments, again on both sides, try not to be so hateful and paranoid. The fact that someone disagrees with you does not make them lying scum. The fact that a result is not the result that you wanted does not make it rigged. The fact that it is on Fox News (or the CSM!) does not make it true.
Think complexly in our complex world. Try to be fair and make balanced and considered judgments. It just might reduce the level of animosity and allow us to make progress on the issues that concern us all.
40. Jack S. | 01.19.09
Funny how much Fox News is being quoted here - you know, the unfair and biased people…get over it you neos, you LOST!
41. Andrew from Brooklyn | 01.25.09
It’s amazing that Senator Coleman after the election was up around 700 votes
now he’s down over 200 that’s quite a swing. You mean to tell me that of all the votes recounted there weren’t any for Coleman. Also how about the ballots that happened to show up that were in someones car trunk.And all these votes were for Franken? I saw some of the questionable ballots where it was clear that the voter voted for Obama but it was was obvious that it was not clear who the vote was for in the senate race yet the ballot was counted for Franken
assuming that’s who they wanted.What a shame that the people of Minnesota were
so careless with their votes.
42. Tanner | 02.04.09
I have read through these comments by people, from both the right and the left side. I am a little amazed that no one has made any comments against the Independent candidate that was running. The man took 16% of the overall vote; what was he still doing in that election? I have nothing against that guy - the 2-party system that we have now is not ideal - but he should have known to back out of that election. By staying in and stealing some very important votes, he has let the 2008 Minnesota Senate race be decided by a couple hundred votes, out of millions! He should not have been in the race, he knew he was going to lose, he had no business there.
And, to make a comment to all of the people still obsessed over the 2000 Presidential election, I am with you. But think about this, Gore could have won outright if a certain Independent wasn’t running in that race. I am sure we have all heard of him: Ralph Nader.
I think all of this just comes back to the fact that we need to update this two-party system. And, in election this close, having a run-off would not be a bad idea at all.
43. boone | 02.05.09
I just don’t get it. Why aren’t you guys demanding major change in your party and wanting to get rid of the likes of Norm Coleman. Instead of calling the democrats names like liars, focus on making this a better country. The republicans have been in control for the last eight years and the results are in — a disaster. Those are just the facts. Why on earth are you still supporting them? If this had been the democrats that did this to our country you would be screaming from the rafters.
This is the bottom line– your guys that you elected have practically destroyed this country while wearing their flag pins and attempting to paint
Obama as some kind of treasonous socialist. It’s time to do something that would enable us all as Americans, instead of calling the dems liars and psychotic. It’s time for us all to grow up if we want to bring this country back.
44. John | 02.12.09
It is unfortunate that our political system has become a 2 party system and that being a electable candidate comes down to how much money you have or that logic is overruled by party affiliation. If we as americans would pay any attention to facts, we would see that George W. was not even close to being a conservative when it came to domestic spending. That being said, Coleman’s voting record places him as a centralist. I truly believe that if the other parties had a chance at winning in the state of Minnesota, Coleman would have migrated to the independant party and not to the repuplican party. I would like to point out that the ruling party is cyclic and that in fighting of the parties only hurts us the citezins. If we want to fix the system stop voting party lines and vote out the politicians that don’t represent you, the voter.
45. Arthur Howard | 03.04.09
Norm Cloeman was a lousy Senator period!More like an Andriod infact!He voted with the Bush administration on most ,if not all, issues.The Rebublican’s stole the White House with no reluctance on 2000,thanks to a bias Supreme Court interference.Now they are hoping for the same in the Senate.Thay have no shame!
46. Walter L. Johnson | 03.31.09
Minnesota must have one of the worst systems in the United States for settling disputed elections. It is hard to believe the state would allow such a significant period with only half its US Senate delegation. These court cases are costing Minnesota significant money that it needs to meet its expenses. The state cannot simply have no position on the recount results. When we had a closer election for Governor in Washington state, the recount was done quickly and final in keeping with the state’s national stature as the best in state government administration. The dragged out Minnesota process reflects poorly on Minnesota.
Rather than continue a court battle, the state legislature should simply declare Franken the winner based on the recount results. The US Constitution does not require even a popular vote to select US Senators. The power rests with the state legislators and is given up to voters only at their discretion.
A great deal of money is being distributed based on the composition of a Senate that only half the normal Minnesota representation. This had to have hurt Minnesota’s chances of getting its fair share of federal funding.
In Washington state when we had the nationally closest recount for Governor, the whole matter was settled before the normal swearing in date for Governor, so it has been a shock to see how slow the process goes in Minnesota. Part of the reason may be that ballot challenges in Washington have to occur before votes are counted.
Whatever is done it should guarantee some form of representation in the US Senate and US House for the entire duration of the sessions of those legal bodies, even if it means a temporary appointment. It is really distressing the Illinois gets a quick Senate pick, while Minnesota tolerates a costly public argument, which is what court cases are.
47. Guy B. Langsdale | 04.25.09
I agree with the concept that they should have a law mandating a run-off, a-la GA when neither candidate has a 50+1 majority. That was obvious election night. Another way is Instant Run-off Voting, which they do in Australia and is being tried in some localities here. IRV would have resolved the issue by counting the 2nd choices of all the candidates who did not make the top two, and would mose likely have reslolved the issue almost immediately. By the way, it would have also eliminated the Florida debacle the same way, by counting the Nader voters’ second choices…..
48. JRT | 07.01.09
First, as an engineer, I have to say that there is no doubt that this election was decided by random errors. Perhaps the best two out of three recounts would be the way to decide the election. 
Better, since neither had a majority, would have been a runoff election.
Re: Comments 34 & 42
We have probably reached the point where the two party system isn’t working well for us. If the election has used approval voting (with or without ranking) this probably wouldn’t have happened and Coleman would have won. As it stands, Franken has won but the majority of those the voted would probably have rather have Coleman as Senator.
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1. michael kennedy | 01.11.09
In 2000 Al Gore accepted defeat although he clearly won the majority of votes. He did so in order to avoid a lengthy and probably bitter legal contest in which the country would surely be the loser.
In view of that precedent, I think Norm Coleman should step aside without involving the court system where he would probably lose anyway.