(CNN) - The season just got a bit less jolly for Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman: in a Christmas Eve decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously rejected a lawsuit calling for recount changes that would have erased Democratic challenger Al Franken’s narrow lead.
The Coleman campaign’s suit had asked the court to intervene because of what it says are double-counted absentee ballots that have been unfairly awarded to Al Franken. The incumbent’s lawyers asked the court to restore the original Election Night totals in roughly two dozen precincts, where recount gains had given Franken an overall edge.
The justices rejected that argument, agreeing with the Franken team that those allegations should be dealt with in legal proceedings after the recount was complete, and a winner certified by the state’s canvassing board.
Franken currently leads Coleman by 47 votes. In a ruling earlier Wednesday, the court extended the deadline for the completion of the Senate race recount to the first week in January.
From CNN Politics
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stealing the election, thats what dems do in time for Christmas!!!!
And Franken STEALS the election!
Six years ago Coleman won because his oppenent was killed in a plane crash, but this time it seems luck isn't on his side. Yeah!
NORM COLEMAN IS A CROOK JUST LIKE THE RNC-REALLY NOTHING CREDITABLE.
I can't believe that the Democrats are stealing this election in the courts. Having Franken as a Senator is a travesty.
Best of luck Al!!! We're praying for you to win this election so that the Republican numbers can keep on dwindling.
Every vote counts so count every vote.
This is getting ridiculous.
It's gone on for far too long already.
Go away Norm.
Tell the Idiot Colman it's time to give it up.. YOU LOST
What a great Christmas gift for Al Franken and the United States of America! This just goes to show you: the best gifts are things that money can't buy! I look forward to seeing Senator Franken and getting the cheating, lying, dishonest Coleman out of office and getting a senator for the whole country that we can all trust in there!
This is such an interesting race. They are so close that it will take 2 months from election day to determine the winner. Minnesotans, I'm sure, are in suspense.
Coleman's only hope is the Supreme Court.
Hey, it worked for Bush, and that worked out OKl, didn't it?
Tough break for Norm. Good day for America.
What a joke the state of Minnesota. Its Christmas and they still can't get a simple election count correct that took place seven weeks ago. At this point the US Senate should simply declare the Minnesota Senate seat vacant until the next election in six years. Maybe that's enough time to get this backward state educated in the complicated art of simple arithmetic.
It should also be explained the duplicate ballots are generally only created when the original ballot cannot be read by the optical scanner... thus requiring the election official at the precinct to create an identical copy so that it may be fed through the machine. A lot of the ballots that require duplication are overseas ballots that are printed on regular paper and sent in to the state from abroad.
The easiest way to prove that ballots were counted twice would be to check the amount of ballots recorded for any given precinct against the sign-in sheets and amount of reported absentee ballots. If there are more votes reported than people who voted you could conclude that some were double counted. However the Coleman camp was unable to provide that evidence to the MN Supreme Court.
If Al Franken joins the U.S. Senate it will be a tragic mistake for Minnesota residents.
I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough and DogGone It, I'm a U.S. Senator.
O'Liely must be spinning in his "zone".
Now, what's that funny German word for feeling good at other's misfortunes . . . ? Scheuden – something. Help me, rushpublicans, you guys know a lot of German.
Shame on the Minnesota Supreme Court! Democracy is hanging in the balance in the great state of Minnesota!! Fight Sen. Coleman, fight!
Do not let that clown steal your win fight, fight!
I guess electing a prime douschbag like Franken speaks for the deranged voters today. The lord have mercy on this country.
wow this is an upset. I think coleman should do the honorable thing and bow out. the country does not need a long drawn out battle regarding votes.
For a State well known for a higher than average personal intellect within the computer science area, this is a joke that is much larger than Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. Give these guys paintball guns at forty feet. Wait, they would probably miss the mark and get a paint spot on a hanging chad.
That smell is the decomposing corpses of the GOP......yesterday's political party.
For all the talk from Dems about "stealing elections", it sure seems the the Democrats are far more guilty of it than Rs...
The GOP won't be able to steal this one, like they did to Gore. Just look at what we got the last 8 is a disgrace. I'm happy to see justice is still alive and prevailing in the great state of Minnesota.