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The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously ruled Al Franken the winner of last November's Senate race, putting the former "Saturday Night Live” star on the brink of becoming a United States senator and Democrats on the cusp of holding a dominant supermajority in the Senate. In a unanimous 5-0 decision, the court upheld a three-judge panel's April 14 ruling that Franken defeated Republican Norm Coleman in the race by 312 votes out of 2.9 million cast....

June 30, 2009 BREAKING: Minnesota's highest court rules for Al Franken Posted: 02:25 PM ET (CNN) — Minnesota's Supreme Court has dismissed former Sen. Norm Coleman's challenge to the state's November election results and declared Democratic challenger Al Franken the winner. The unanimous opinion ruled that Franken "received the highest number of votes legally cast" and is entitled "to receive the certificate of election as United States senator from the state of Minnesota." The former "Saturday Night Live" writer and performer had declared victory in the disputed race after a recount ended in January, but Coleman — a Republican who...

Al Franken confirmed to MN senate by MN supreme court.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee spent almost $1 million last month on Republican Norm Coleman's attempt to win last year's U.S. Senate race. Coleman is attempting to overturn Democrat Al Franken's slender lead. The former senator's appeal of a trial court's decision that Franken won is awaiting a ruling from the Minnesota Supreme Court. That ruling could be issued any day. Last month, the NRSC spent $937,917 to help Coleman in that effort. Minneapolis law firm Dorsey & Whitney, home to Coleman attorney Jim Langdon, received $350,171 of that and Washington, D.C., law firm Patton Boggs, Coleman legal spokesman Ben...

PIM has now heard from two sources on different sides of the Minnesota U.S. Senate race recount scene that the final Minnesota Supreme Court ruling is expected to arrive tomorrow, Thursday, June 18th

A review of Minnesota’s statewide database of registered voters revealed at least 2,812 deceased individuals voted in last November’s general election, according to a new report by the “traditional values” advocacy group Minnesota Majority. After obtaining the list of voters who participated in November’s election, the group hired an independent firm who specializes in “death suppression” for direct mailing lists to review the data. The process, which involved matching names and addresses to state death records, bore troubling results. According to Minnesota statute 201.13, the commissioner of health is to report monthly the name, address, date of birth, and county...

Over 2,800 people who were already dead may have "voted" in last November's election in Minnesota -- an indication either of voter fraud, or of record-keeping so flawed that it leaves the state vulnerable to fraudulent ballots being cast according to a government watchdog group. Minnesota Majority, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with several Republican supporters, is calling for a federal investigation into Minnesota's election practices. "The secretary of state's office is now in what I interpret to be panic mode," Minnesota Majority founder Jeff Davis tells Newsmax. According to Davis, the issue of deceased persons on the voter rolls dates...

A Minnesota group claims they’ve uncovered thousands of votes that were registered in deceased people’s names and say the Secretary of State left them on the voting rolls. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS took the names of a handful of dead voters and tried to find out why they're listed by the state as having voted and found tired election workers, long hours, and confusing rules may be more to blame than outright fraud. Julie Webster died in August 2006, but she voted two years later on Nov. 4, 2008. Her widow Henry Webster did not know until 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS told...

Republican Norm Coleman's legal team on Monday faced a skeptical audience of five Minnesota Supreme Court justices, who could be his last lifeline to prevent Democrat Al Franken from being seated as the state's junior senator. During the one-hour proceeding, the five justices peppered Coleman attorney Joe Friedberg with pointed questions on whether the campaign had provided enough evidence to prove that Coleman would have won the election if additional absentee ballots were included. Justice Christopher Dietzen, an appointee of Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty who is considered to be the court's most conservative judge, said during the hearing that Coleman's...

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has this piece of advice for Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine: Butt out of Minnesota's U.S. Senate race. In a letter, Pawlenty has pointedly rebuffed Kaine's request this week that he prod fellow Republican Norm Coleman to abandon his fight to regain the state's vacant Senate seat. For either Coleman or Democrat Al Franken to be seated, Pawlenty must sign an election certificate. In his letter, Pawlenty replied: "Some of your Democratic colleagues and members of the media have inaccurately stated that an election certification is being withheld," Pawlenty wrote. "That is not the case."

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken met privately with Vice President Joe Biden late Wednesday afternoon to update him on the still-contested Minnesota Senate race. Franken, who said he is eager to join the Senate,

The political whirlwind that surrounded Sen. Arlen Specter ’s switch from the Republican to Democratic party had him forgetting which team he is rooting for in 2010. But after voicing support for Republican Norm Coleman in his contested Minnesota Senate race, Specter said he misspoke in a New York Times magazine interview and is supporting Democrats. Specter switched parties April 30 in an effort to hold his Pennsylvania seat for a sixth term in the 2010 election. The move upset fellow Republicans and elated Democrats who edged to a 59-seat majority with two independents in a Senate where 60 senators...

ATTENTION, LIBERAL BLOGGERS (AND AL FRANKEN)!!! The new Democrat says the Minnesota Republican should return to the Senate.

A COMEDIAN who had a walk-on part in the Rutles film spoof of the Beatles is poised to deliver a 60-seat super-majority to the Democrats in the Senate as President Barack Obama consolidates his grip on the levers of power. Al Franken, 57, a satirist turned Democrat politician, is expected to be proclaimed the winner of the protracted race for the US Senate in Minnesota, in time to give Obama a free hand to appoint a Supreme Court replacement for retiring Justice David Souter without fear of Republican blocking tactics. If Franken wins, Obama will hold an unassailable majority after...

Six months after Election Day, Al Franken is a man in limbo, preparing for an office he's not entirely sure he's going to get, chained to a fundraising treadmill for a legal battle that goes on and on, and champing to get to work while precious committee assignments and pitched policy battles pass him by. He has hired a Minnesota state director -- Alana Peterson -- but she's working for free because he can't draw on any money budgeted for a Senate seat that has no winner. His office? Most days it's his Minneapolis townhouse. On Friday, it was the...

Liberal advocacy group Americans United For Change has released a new ad pressuring Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to "act in the best interest of Minnesota" and certify Democrat Al Franken as the state's senator. Franken was declared the victor in his battle against Norm Coleman for the Minnesota Senate seat following a recount and legal wrangling that has lasted for months. Coleman is now appealing the decision to the state Supreme Court. "Most Minnesotans – including Republicans – believe that once the state Supreme Court rules, Governor Pawlenty should do his legal duty and certify Al Franken as our senator,"...

The never-ending Minnesota Senate race won’t be decided until this summer, thanks to a state Supreme Court decision Friday to hear oral arguments starting June 1. The elongated time table is frustrating for Democrats agitating to seat Democrat Al Franken, who would be the 59th Democrat in the Senate. It’s a minor victory for Republicans, who appreciate every delay in this case and face an uphill battle in overturning Franken’s 312-vote lead. Coleman’s first filing is due April 30. Franken must file his paperwork by May 11, followed by a mandatory Coleman response on May 15. Oral arguments are scheduled...

After more than 5 months since a close election race in Minnesota, & a decision in favour of Franken in the lower courts, Coleman files an appeal to take the decision to the MN Supreme Court. Franken spokesperson says Coleman campaign in "death throes"

Meanwhile, back in the Minnesota Senate recount, the three-judge panel reviewing the race has declared Democrat Al Franken the winner. Republican Norm Coleman intends to appeal to the state's Supreme Court, while Democrats and the press corps pressure him to surrender. We hope Mr. Coleman keeps fighting, because the outcome so far hangs on the fact that some votes have been counted differently from others... ...Even without any irregularities, this is as close to a "tie" as it gets. And there have been plenty of irregularities. By the end of the recount, the state was awash with evidence of duplicate...

Meanwhile, back in the Minnesota Senate recount, the three-judge panel reviewing the race has declared Democrat Al Franken the winner. Republican Norm Coleman intends to appeal to the state's Supreme Court, while Democrats and the press corps pressure him to surrender. We hope Mr. Coleman keeps fighting, because the outcome so far hangs on the fact that some votes have been counted differently from others. APEven after the recount and panel-findings, the 312-vote margin separating the two men equals about .01% of the 2.9 million votes cast. Even without any irregularities, this is as close to a "tie" as it...