Minnesota Decision: Supreme Court Rules For Franken, Coleman Concedes (VIDEO)

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that Democrat Al Franken be certified as the winner of the state's long-running Senate race.

The high court rejected a legal challenge from Republican Norm Coleman, whose options for regaining the Senate seat are dwindling.

Justices said Franken is entitled to the election certificate he needs to assume office. With Franken and the usual backing of two independents, Democrats will have a big enough majority to overcome Republican filibusters.

Coleman accepted the loss shortly after the decision was announced, saying he had few regrets.

"The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results," Coleman told reporters outside his St. Paul home.

"In these tough times we all need to focus on the future, and the future is that we have a new United States senator," Coleman said.

Franken graciously embraced his victory at a press conference with his wife by his side.

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President Obama welcomed Franken to office.

"I look forward to working with Senator-Elect Franken to build a new foundation for growth and prosperity by lowering health care costs and investing in the kind of clean energy jobs and industries that will help America lead in the 21st century."

Pawlenty said he would sign the certificate today.

"The Minnesota Supreme Court has today addressed the issues surrounding the accuracy and integrity of our election system during the 2008 U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. In light of that decision and Senator Coleman's announcement that he will not be pursuing an appeal, I will be signing the election certificate today as directed by the court and applicable law.

"I would like to thank Senator Coleman for his service. As state solicitor general, Mayor of Saint Paul and United States Senator, he has been an extraordinary leader and public servant for Minnesota.

"I also want to congratulate Al Franken and wish him well as he serves the people of Minnesota."

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said the earliest Franken would be seated is next week because the Senate is out of session for the July 4th holiday.

Coleman's appeal hinged largely on whether thousands of absentee votes had been unfairly rejected by local election officials around the state.

The unanimous court wrote that "because the legislature established absentee voting as an optional method of voting, voters choosing to use that method are required to comply with the statutory provisions."

They went on to say that "because strict compliance with the statutory requirements for absentee voting is, and always has been required, there is no basis on which voters could have reasonably believed that anything less than strict compliance would suffice."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said they were "pleased" with the result.

Read the full decision here.

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Comments

[americanalien]

12:32 AM on 07/04/2009

God bless Al Franken and God bless the Democratic Party. We're on a roll and there is no stopping us.

[americanalien]

11:57 PM on 07/03/2009

I am so happy that Al Franken conquered Norm Coleman in that long standing senatorial battle in the great state of Minnesota. Mr. Franken has sealed what is turning out to be a Permanent Democratic Majority for generation­s to come. The Democratic Party has never been stronger. Democrats now control all levers of power in America with extremely strong majorities plus, to top it off, they have a President whose popularity is second to none in the history of this country.

On the other hand, the Republican­s continue to destroy themselves­. Their party is in shambles but instead of working to build back their infrastruc­ture, all they do is sit and watch Fox news all day. For this, they deserve everything that is happening to them. They have not learned the lesson from the crushing defeat that they suffered at the polls last November. They are characteri­zed by one circus show after another - from Sarah Palin to Mark Sanford. The GOP could be extinct before we know it and when it happens, they have no one to blame but themselves­.

[johnnyboy56]

07:16 PM on 07/03/2009

It is now clear that about half of the people in that state are idiots. I will avoid it in my travels.

[Robert Cantor]

03:10 AM on 07/04/2009

Which half?

[steve52]

10:48 AM on 07/03/2009

12 different Minnesota judges, appointed by governors of three different parties, saw to it that the letter of Minnesota'­s election law was followed. The Minnesota supreme court ruled unanimousl­y that the recount was fair, lawful and properly done.

Quit whining, wingnuts, and accept reality: you lost yet another election.

[Robert Cantor]

03:11 AM on 07/04/2009

an oxymoron is not a stupid cow; what it is, is the wingnuts who cruise this board accepting reality; aint' gonna happen.

[SoDakJack]

10:10 AM on 07/03/2009

Very happy for Al Franken. Fantastico­!

[myvoice09]

06:26 AM on 07/03/2009

Coleman should have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Minn court obviously biased to rule this way with the inconsiste­ncies in the ballot count and the counting standards being applied differentl­y from county to county i.e. some votes counted in one county but not the next. Norm Coleman won on election night. But hey, dems got what they wanted - they control it all and still can't get anything done! In the meantime, spending is out of control, unemployme­nt is over 9% and expected to go higher, and we have a lunatic north korean dictator shooting missles at Hawaii while obama talks about lightbulbs­. Way to go! When the 2010 elections roll around and American people vote the libs and dems out of power for the incredible mess they have made of this country, the dems will be wondering what hit 'em.

[MysticInd]

12:20 PM on 07/04/2009

Yes, thanks to Bush!

[gtgale]

05:04 AM on 07/03/2009

DIDNT THEY COUNT THE VOTES AGAIN..? NOBODY WANTED HIM IN OFFICE... WHO FUDGED THE VOTES AGAIN....? WE ARE GETTING FED UP WITH THIS FUDGING OF VOTES. STOP THIS AND GET THE MAN IN WHO THE PEOPLE VOTE FOR. WE ARE FED UP WITH ALL THESE SHENANIGAN­S...WHEN WE VOTE WE EXPECT IT TO BE COUNTED CORRECTLY AND NOT FUDGED... WE ARE SICK AND TIRED OF THE GAMES.... ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.. THIS IS AMERICA... WE DONT DO THAT. WE ARE FAIR. . LETS GET AN HONEST COUNT... REDO IT AGAIN... WE KNOW WHO WON..... .

[discourse jockey]

05:49 AM on 07/03/2009

Kudos, that's a spot-on caricature of the typical Repug crybaby.

[losingitbigtime]

12:26 PM on 07/03/2009

Very funny, you had me going for a moment.

[FirstShirt]

07:47 PM on 07/02/2009

Good news. Now the democrats control the Presidency and the Congress. At last!! No room to wiggle. You asked for it you got it.

Now you are responsibl­e for what happens...­or doesn't happen. Enjoy. And you started by electing a clown for the Senate.

[cdchicago]

02:36 AM on 07/03/2009

Why not? If you unball your constituti­on and read it through, you will find he meets the criteria for Senator. Why you can even be a former actor, a farmer, a drunk driver, an ex military officer or even a wife cheater. I think the honorable Mr. Franken, like the sitting President is also a former best selling author. This would not preclude him from being a Senator. He once wrote for Saturday Night Live, back when it was consistent­ly funny. This would not preclude him from being a Senator either. He hosted a radio show once. I have heard him on SAT Radio. But you can do that and still be a Senator.

I am afraid what you can't be is the person with the least number of votes. I believe this only qualifies you for the position of former candidate for Senator. While they both hold this title, only one can be Senator. This is unfortunat­e and perhaps for Republican­s looking forward, problemati­c.

[mtracy9]

04:40 PM on 07/02/2009

All these Republican question Franken's background­, yet they love (loved) the the idea of the Hollywood actors, Ronnie and Arnold going into politics.

[FirstShirt]

07:45 PM on 07/02/2009

Yes, but they weren't sissy boys.

[SDIMASTER]

04:33 PM on 07/02/2009

Liberals no longer have the right to question Gov Palin's qualificat­ions.
with Franken in the Senate; Gov. Palin is now qualified to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States!!

[mtracy9]

04:37 PM on 07/02/2009

Franken is much more competent that the GOP's Terminator Governor of California­.

[SnapShots]

04:38 PM on 07/02/2009

Frank brings a wealth of depth and knowledge. If you don't know that already, you've been practicing selective comprehens­ion.

[americanalien]

04:25 PM on 07/02/2009

God bless Al Franken and God bless America.

Cheers to a Permanent Democratic Majority.

[FirstShirt]

07:49 PM on 07/02/2009

Take a look behind you. The independen­ts are starting to run the other way. This generation hasn't experience­d a true liberal. Even Slick Willy was moderate. The good news is that this generation of new voter will now get to see what happens when liberals get their way. Last time was Jimmy Carter.

[cdchicago]

02:20 AM on 07/03/2009

No the last time was George W. Bush.

Liberal with the Federal Budget.
Liberal with Constituti­onal Rights.
Liberal with the judicial system.
Liberal with the size of government­.
Liberal with the appointmen­ts like Fema.
Liberal about the definition and execution of torture.
Liberal about the qualificat­ions for the Supreme court
Liberal about national security
Liberal about completing his home work in terms of national security briefings.
and Liberal with the truth.

I suppose he has been tolerant and accepting of bad behavior as well from guys like Little Kim of North Korea and that sad Loud moth from Iran...

[ALittleClarity]

10:34 AM on 07/02/2009

Send in the Clowns!!!

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=3CAX3aJCo­Dg

[Pettit]

02:59 PM on 07/02/2009

EAT YOUR HEART OUT! "ALITTLEOB­SCURITY" hehehehe

[mocai01]

07:00 AM on 07/02/2009

... hey kids ... time will tell - most likely al franken will do a fine job ...

[PorkyDomesticus]

12:36 AM on 07/02/2009

Bad tempered clowns should stick to comedy and not go into politics. Seems kind of obvious when youre not an American..­.

[Pettit]

03:02 PM on 07/02/2009

Yeah I hear you! Bush is such a clown...an­d Sanford, and Chenney, and all of those great republican­s clowns...h­ehe

[AntiMarxist]

10:40 PM on 07/01/2009

Very sad when Stuart Smalley votes to intrude upon our lives.

[LeftRight]

05:02 PM on 07/04/2009

Well then it's a good thing that Stuart Smalley isn't in Congress then huh?