Posts by Chris Steller

Al Franken used a statement on federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court to say he expects to be seated as Minnesota’s junior senator in time for confirmation hearings that President Obama has said should happen in July. “I look forward to joining my colleagues as we examine Judge Sotomayor’s [...]

Three election law experts who have been closely tracking the Norm Coleman-Al Franken contest for Minnesota’s currently unfilled seat in the U.S. Senate weigh in today with written reactions to the final order (pdf) from the three-judge panel that heard Coleman’s complaint. All admired the order for its unanimity and deft handling of Coleman’s equal protection claims.

Al Franken, calling himself “the next senator from Minnesota,” said Monday afternoon he is ready to go to Washington to get to work just as soon as possible.
But Franken didn’t respond to reporters’ shouted questions about exactly when he would go to Washington and retreated up the front steps of his downtown Minneapolis townhouse with [...]

The Minnesota Supreme Court issued an order late Monday morning (pdf) denying an emergency motion from the Norm Coleman campaign to stop the State Canvassing Board from certifying the vote in the statewide Senate recount. That clears the way for the canvassing board to certify this afternoon that Al Franken received the most votes in [...]

In a week that has raised the specter of ballots that may have been wrongfully rejected, lost and, on Tuesday, found, challenged ballots — those on which either side felt the voters’ intent wasn’t perfectly clear — may ultimately decide the still-unresolved U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. Incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman holds onto a slim [...]