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American Hero Becomes Senator
January 5, 2009, 1:40 pm
Minnesota Board Certifies Franken Win
By Michael Falcone
Update | 3:40 p.m. The Minnesota State Canvassing Board certified results Monday showing Al Franken, a Democrat, winning the Senate recount over Republican Norm Coleman, who is expected to challenge the result.
Earlier today, the state Supreme Court rejected the Coleman campaign’s petition to count several hundred additional absentee ballots.
“This victory is incredibly humbling - not just because it was so narrow, but because of the tremendous responsibility it gives me on behalf of the people of Minnesota,” Mr. Franken said, following the Canvassing Board’s decision. (Transcript)
After this weekend’s tally of mistakenly rejected absentee ballots, Mr. Franken, the Democrat, was holding on to a 225-vote lead. The Supreme Court has declined the Mr. Coleman’s appeal to consider 654 more ballots.
The election panel’s stamp of approval is unlikely to bring an end to the contest. A lawyer for the Coleman campaign, Fritz Knaak, issued a statement today calling the court’s ruling “disappointing and disheartening” and vowed to challenge the outcome of the recount.
“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,” Mr. Knaak said in a statement. “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.”
The lead recount lawyer for Mr. Franken, Marc Elias, said that the decision assured a Franken victory in the Senate race, which has stretched on for more than six weeks since Election Day.
“Today, the Supreme Court once again affirmed the validity of the rules under which this recount was conducted,” Mr. Elias said. “Minnesotans have waited a long time for a winner to be declared in this race, and today, with the last attempt to halt the counting process now having failed, Al Franken will be declared the winner.”
Minnesota Board Certifies Franken Win
By Michael Falcone
Update | 3:40 p.m. The Minnesota State Canvassing Board certified results Monday showing Al Franken, a Democrat, winning the Senate recount over Republican Norm Coleman, who is expected to challenge the result.
Earlier today, the state Supreme Court rejected the Coleman campaign’s petition to count several hundred additional absentee ballots.
“This victory is incredibly humbling - not just because it was so narrow, but because of the tremendous responsibility it gives me on behalf of the people of Minnesota,” Mr. Franken said, following the Canvassing Board’s decision. (Transcript)
After this weekend’s tally of mistakenly rejected absentee ballots, Mr. Franken, the Democrat, was holding on to a 225-vote lead. The Supreme Court has declined the Mr. Coleman’s appeal to consider 654 more ballots.
The election panel’s stamp of approval is unlikely to bring an end to the contest. A lawyer for the Coleman campaign, Fritz Knaak, issued a statement today calling the court’s ruling “disappointing and disheartening” and vowed to challenge the outcome of the recount.
“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,” Mr. Knaak said in a statement. “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.”
The lead recount lawyer for Mr. Franken, Marc Elias, said that the decision assured a Franken victory in the Senate race, which has stretched on for more than six weeks since Election Day.
“Today, the Supreme Court once again affirmed the validity of the rules under which this recount was conducted,” Mr. Elias said. “Minnesotans have waited a long time for a winner to be declared in this race, and today, with the last attempt to halt the counting process now having failed, Al Franken will be declared the winner.”
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