Obama Citizenship

Franken Leads Sen. Coleman by 225 Votes; Will MN Supreme Court Intervene? Update: GOP Promises Franken Filibuster

By Phil

According to a posting at hotair.com, Al Franken is now leading the recount of challenged and absentee balots by 225 votes. Yet, Minnesota’s hotly-contested Senate seat may not be over even after this tally (via StarTribune.com):

The state Canvassing Board was posed to certify the results of the recount in Minnesota?s grueling Senate election in Al Franken?s favor ? but that doesn?t mean the race is definitely over.

The board was to meet Monday and was expected to declare which candidate received the most overall votes from nearly 3 million ballots cast. The latest numbers showed Franken, a Democrat, with a 225-vote lead over Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

But after the announcement, there will be a seven-day waiting period before an election certificate is completed. If any lawsuits are filed during that waiting period, certification is conditional until the issue is settled in court.

Coleman, who led Franken on election night, hasn?t ruled out a lawsuit challenging the results, claiming there were irregularities that gave Franken an unfair advantage.

Ed Morrissey, blogger of hotair.com, was on Dr. Bill Bennett’s “Morning in America” radio program this morning and had mentioned that this is likely to be headed to the Minnesota Supreme Court:

[Sen. Coleman's] best bet may be the inconsistencies in challenge resolutions and the lack of a statewide, uniform standard in addressing the absentee ballots.  Even that may not help much at this point, though.  According to Coleman?s team, up to 1,000 absentee ballots should have been included instead of excluded, but gaining 225 votes out of 1,000 ballots will be a tall order ? although not impossible, as Franken gained 200 out of the 935 absentee ballots they did count.  Ballot challenge inconsistencies will have less of a chance, as those are inherently subjective and the court will give the Canvassing Board the widest possible latitude.

I happen to agree with Ed on this point as well:

Perhaps Minnesota would be better off with the runoff rule that Georgia has, in which any statewide election has to be decided by 50% plus one vote, or the two top vote-getters meet in a run-off election.  A run-off would have been less time-consuming and more objective than the recount we just had, and probably would have resulted in a clear-cut winner.

A run-off without Barack Hussein Obama being at the top of the ticket tends to diminish the standing of a Democrat pursuing a national seat as we saw in Saxby’s run.

Update: TheHill.com reports that Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) would threaten a filibuster against Al Franken:

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) threatened Friday to filibuster any attempt to seat Democratic Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken next week.

The new National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chairman said he had not whipped votes in the GOP caucus, but added that he could not imagine any members defecting and seating Franken without a certificate of election.

Franken will not have that certificate as long as the election is challenged in the courts ? a likely scenario, with Sen. Norm Coleman?s (R-Minn.) legal team already attacking the credibility of the recount process.

?This is a very, very serious matter,? Cornyn said. ?I can assure you that there will be no way that people on our side of the aisle will agree to seat any senator without a valid certificate.?

Some have suggested that Franken could be seated provisionally, which would allow for any court challenges to play out and potentially change the outcome.

But since Minnesota state law won?t provide Franken a certificate of election with an election contest pending, seating Franken could be a risky and difficult proposition. …

Cornyn, a former Texas Supreme Court judge, suggested Friday that the case could go to the Minnesota Supreme Court or beyond.

?I think it is very clear that the people of Minnesota and the courts in Minnesota should make the decision about who won the Minnesota Senate election, and not political leaders in Washington, D.C.,? Cornyn said. ?That process is ongoing and will not be resolved, in all likelihood, for weeks and maybe longer.?

-Phil

Full post as published by The Right Side of Life on January 05, 2009 (boomark / email).