Coleman camp asks that election result be 'set aside'

startribune.com ^ | March 3, 2009 | PAT DOYLE and KEVIN DUCHSCHERE

[Free ThinkerNY]

For more than a month, Norm Coleman stressed flaws in Minnesota's election system.

And on Monday, Coleman lawyer Jim Langdon wrote the three-judge panel to suggest the problems are so serious they may not be able to declare a winner.

"Some courts have held that when the number of illegal votes exceeds the margin between the candidates -- and it cannot be determined for which candidate those illegal votes were cast -- the most appropriate remedy is to set aside the election," Langdon wrote in a letter to the court.

Coleman's team rested most of his case Monday in the U.S. Senate election trial after more testimony underscoring problems with the election system. Under questioning from the Republican's lawyers, Minnesota's elections director acknowledged inaccurate data in the registration system that could exclude otherwise qualified people from voting.

Now Al Franken's team will try to convince judges that things aren't so bad after all.

[Patrick1]

Coleman is dreaming if he thinks this is going to happen.

[lakertaker]

I suppose at this point, it doesn’t matter which one of these two clowns go to DC.

The current occupants in DC are doing enough damage without them

[steve-b]

Does he expect that argument to be taken seriously at this point? He might have had a chance if he’s taken that position from the beginning, but not after spending months arguing about fine details of the election results.

[Jeff Chandler]

The Democrats are not going to find in Coleman’s favor. (Duh!)

[dusttoyou]

Really hard to say, but could be MINN has grown tired of being the laughing stock due to focus on screwy elections that they could call for redo.

[BAW]

The Minnesota election is making Florida voters look as sweetly innocent as Sunday School children!

[Political Junkie Too]

It would be kind of cool to see the courts set aside the election and call for a new one in two weeks between only Franken and Coleman, with no campaigning -- just the public reaffirming their intentions at the polls. No time to organize, no funding of "get out the vote" groups -- just turn out at the polls one more time.

Won't happen, though. Too many interests at stake to leave it up to the voters. The usual cry of the elderly, or the poor, or the absentee, or the military, being disenfranchised from such an approach will be enough to stop it from happening.

-PJ

[Question_Assumptions]

Elections have a “margin of error”, and will likely always have one, within which it will be impossible to tell who would have won had everything been done entirely correctly and legally. We should acknowledge that and require run-off elections whenever the difference in votes falls within a certain margin.

[what's up]

I suppose at this point, it doesn’t matter which one of these two clowns go to DC

Of course it matters.

[griffin]

Should have voted against the bailout bills Coleman!!