Crucial hearing Tuesday in Coleman-Franken fight

[hank scorpio]

From CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

(CNN) — Nearly seven months after Election Day, the battle between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken for a U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota heads to the state's Supreme Court.

But an eventual ruling by Minnesota's top court may not bring an end to one of the nation's longest-running election disputes in decades.

The justices on the state's highest court will hear arguments today on whether problems counting absentee ballots justify the reversal of a lower state court ruling that declared Franken, the former comedian and progressive radio talk show host, the winner by 312 votes over Coleman, the freshman senator whose term expired at the beginning of the year.

Coleman was ahead after election day on November 4, but he led Franken by just over 200 votes out of the nearly three million cast. That triggered an automatic recount. When that process was completed at the beginning of the year, it indicated that Franken led by a similar number of votes.

The Coleman camp quickly appealed that ruling to the state legal system.

Coleman wants the court to order that more than 4,000 absentee ballots that were rejected be counted.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

[dbackjon]

Give it up Norm

[TwinTownBisonFan]