Last week, a panel of three Minnesota judges agreed that Democrat Al Franken defeated Republican Norm Coleman. This race was too close to call after the November election with only 200 of more than 2 million ballots separating the two candidates. However, through a lengthy and costly legal battle, more than $12 million in fees, it has been determined that Al Franken won with a margin of 312 votes. Despite this declaration, Coleman is continuing to contest the election results.
Norm Coleman has delayed seating Al Franken in the US Senate for almost four months. It is time to end this process and accept the will of the Minnesota voters which support immediately seating Franken by 64%.
With Arlen Spector’s recent party shift, Coleman’s appeal will place additional political pressure on Minnesota’s Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty which is already coming from both sides of the aisle. However, the choice is simple; Al Franken won the election and should be seated now.
