Coleman-Franken contest heads to trial

The never-ending U.S. Senate contest will now go to trial. Beginning this afternoon, a three-judge panel will weigh evidence on whether the state Canvassing Board got the vote tally right when it certified Al Franken as the winner by 225 votes.

In anticipation of the trial, Norm Coleman’s camp issued a video alleging that the Democrats are seeking to disenfranchise voters. The former senator also hired media consultant Gail Gitcho to help spin the national press, according to The Washington Post.

Marc Elias, lead recount attorney for Franken, presented his own spin to reporters on a conference call this morning.

“Though they claim that their lawsuit to overturn the election results is about counting every vote, the truth is that they are seeking to disenfranchise Minnesota voters left and right, which has been their pattern throughout this effort,” Elias said.

The Democratic attorney was particularly worked up on today’s call, repeatedly referring to the Coleman camp as the “flat-earth society.”

Of course all the spin is irrelevant. The only votes that matter now are those of the three district court judges on the panel: Elizabeth Hayden, Kurt Marben and Denise Reilly.

Watch day one of the trial here at 1 pm CST.