Word: legalism
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...Senator is frustrated, imagine how her constituents must feel. For four months, they have watched high-powered Washington attorneys question the legitimacy of the state's esteemed election process, using dizzying legal arguments and statistical gymnastics. Coleman has even suggested that an entirely new election might have to be held...
...further to go. On Friday, Minnesota's highest court refused Franken's request that Governor Tim Pawlenty and secretary of state Mark Ritchie be forced to award him the coveted election certificate, which, according to Senate rules, is necessary to seat a candidate. The ruling virtually ensures that the legal wrangling will continue for several more weeks and - if Coleman chooses to appeal the case, possibly to federal courts - perhaps even months...
...board certified Franken the winner of the state's protracted race by 225 votes in early January, Coleman filed an election contest on grounds that flaws in the state's election system were so widespread that they cost him the Senate seat. In the weeks that followed, Coleman's legal counsel has subpoenaed dozens of Minnesota voters and election officials to testify before a three-judge panel about irregularities in the state's vote-tallying process...
Tellingly, both sides appear to be girding for more legal battles. Franken attorney Marc Elias recently sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission requesting an expedited advisory opinion about whether the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee can set up two recount funds on Franken's behalf; Coleman's campaign says it agrees with the request. Meanwhile, dozens of GOP leaders solicited donations for Coleman's recount fund via YouTube in late February...
Nevertheless, election experts say no legal precedent or basis exists for a re-vote in Minnesota law. (A re-vote was conducted in a 1974 New Hampshire U.S. Senate race, but the margin was just two votes.) Besides, as the state retrenches in the face of a $4.5 billion deficit, another election would be costly. Secretary of state Ritchie, a Democrat, says it would cost the state between $3.5 million and $5 million. "It's pure fantasy, pure baloney," he says...