franken-hed

In a unanimous ruling, the Minnesota Supreme Court has found Norm Coleman’s election-contest appeal lacking, making way for Democrat Al Franken to take a seat in the U.S. Senate.

The court summarized its 34-page ruling (pdf) this way:

In the Matter of the Contest of the General Election held on November 4, 2008, for the purpose of electing a United
States Senator from the State of Minnesota, Cullen Sheehan and Norm Coleman, contestants, Appellants vs. Al Franken,
contestee, Respondent. Ramsey County.

1. Appellants did not establish that, by requiring proof that statutory absentee voting standards were satisfied before counting a rejected absentee ballot, the trial court’s decision constituted a post-election change in standards that violates substantive due process.

2. Appellants did not prove that either the trial court or local election officials violated the constitutional guarantee of equal protection.

3. The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it excluded additional evidence.

4. Inspection of ballots under Minn. Stat. § 209.06 (2008) is available only on a showing that the requesting party cannot properly be prepared for trial without an inspection. Because appellants made no such showing here, the trial court did not err in denying inspection.

5. The trial court did not err when it included in the final election tally the election day returns of a precinct in which some ballots were lost before the manual recount.

Affirmed. Per Curiam.
Took no part, Chief Justice Eric J. Magnuson and Justice G. Barry Anderson.

More to come.