Minnesota Senate Recount Tainted, Coleman to Challenge Certification

As expected, the Minnesota Canvassing Board today certified the results of the Board's recount of the Minnesota Senate election, declaring Democrat Al Franken to be the winner by 225 votes. The Canvassing Board's action, however is far from the final word on the election. Minnesota law says that an election result cannot be certified by the Secretary of State until all court challenges to the outcome have been adjudicated. With the result so close, and with strong evidence of improper counting by the canvassing board, incumbent Senator Norm Coleman (R) vowed to contest the Board's decision in court.

Through its lead attorney, the Coleman campaign issued a statement on the Board's action, calling it "unfortunate."

"The actions by the Canvassing Board today are but the first step in what, unfortunately, will now have to be a longer process. This process isn't at the end; it is now just at the beginning. We will contest the actions of the Canvassing Board – – otherwise literally millions of Minnesotans will be disenfranchised.

While we appreciate the efforts of this board to do the work, the reality is that any certification of the vote totals at this point is only preliminary. As this Canvassing Board has recognized, there still exist serious problems with inconsistencies with the administrative recount, and therefore in the validity and reliability of the numbers certified today. There can be no count that is valid when 654 potentially valid absentee votes remain disenfranchised and when some votes are counted twice – – leading to a violation of one of the most sacred principles of our Constitution – – "One person, one vote."

And there can be no justification to report out a total when 133 were included in a count where there are not ballots to support them. Or when a batch of votes were not counted on Election Night, but were miraculously "found" during the recount and included."

The Canvassing Board's action leaves Democrats in the U.S. Senate with a dilemma. If Franken shows up at the Capitol tomorrow to be seated, he will do so without a valid certificate of election signed by both the Minnesota Governor and Secretary of State. That wold put Franken in the same position as disputed Senate appointee from Illinois Roland Burris (D). Democrats have vowed not to seat Burris because of his credentials problem, but Democrat Senator from Minnesota Amy Klobuchar has called publicly for the Senate to seat Franken based on the Canvassing Board's count, disregarding Minnesota law which states that an election is not over until all contests to the results have been heard.

Republicans have said that they will resist Franken's seating on the same grounds that Democrats will deny Burris, the lack of a valid certificate. Democrats cannot reasonably deny Burris his seat able simultaneously seating Franken. But they will likely try. Ironically, Burris' claim to his seat is more valid than Franken's, given the well documented irregularities and outright vote rigging that occurred in the Minnesota Canvassing Board's recount. One thing is certain in all of this, tomorrow's opening session of the 111h Congress will be the most interesting in history.