Coleman contests his resounding defeat in the seemingly endless Minnesota Senate race recount. Coleman files appeal

Norm Coleman’s legal team has filed a notice of appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court, contesting his resounding defeat last week at the hands of a lower court in the seemingly endless Minnesota Senate race recount.

Coleman’s appeal to the state supreme court was expected, but it comes after a week of pressure from Democrats, Minnesota media and even some Gopher State Republicans for him to concede. Coleman and his attorneys have dismissed these calls for his concession, and he has the full backing of Washington Republicans, who continue to raise money for his legal fees in the ongoing fight.


Coleman’s appeal comes the same day Democrat Al Franken went into senator-elect mode, announcing the hiring a state director to handle Minnesota constituent matters. Franken’s move was as administrative as it was political – he wants maximum pressure on Coleman to step aside in what some many observers believe is a long shot effort to overcome Franken’s 312 vote lead.

The premise of Coleman’s state Supreme Court appeal is consistent with what he has contended throughout the six month ordeal – there were 4,400 rejected ballots, and he wants a new review of the ballots in question. Franken’s legal team said Monday that they were so confident they would win again in this court battle that they plan to file a motion requesting expedited decision by the state’s high court.

“We do believe the district court got it wrong on the law, because the Minnesota tradition in law is to franchise people and their decision disenfranchises people whose votes were wrongly discarded,” Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg said in an afternoon conference call. “Different rules were used by different jurisdiction to create an equal protection violation.”

Ginsberg said Coleman is “just thinking about the Minnesota Supreme Court,” but even if they lose again, Republicans are pushing for a federal court appeal, which could take months.

Franken’s top lawyer, Marc Elias, noted that the Coleman appeal also disputes some ballots already counted, undermining the argument that more ballots must be counted.

“When it comes to disenfranchisement, no one holds a candle to the legal team formed by former Sen. Coleman,” Elias said. “This is the same ole same old that the court has rejected. … What we have now is the death throes of the Coleman legal effort.”