Franken going to court to get seated

[babylonsister]

http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/franken-going-to-court-to-get-seated-2009-01-13.html

Franken going to court to get seated
By Aaron Blake
Posted: 01/13/09 04:17 PM


Attorneys for Minnesota Democrat Al Franken said they have filed a petition with the Minnesota Supreme Court to get their candidate seated in the Senate.

The move came a day after Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) and Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie (D) rebuffed the campaign’s request to seat Franken.

Franken’s lawyers are citing federal law and the Constitution, which state that the governor and secretary of state must sign off on the winner of an election, and that a state should have two senators, respectively.

Minnesota has a law, though, that prevents an election result from being certified during a legal challenge. Republican Norm Coleman’s lawyers are contesting the result put forward by a state recount panel last week, which had Franken on top by 225 votes.

Franken lawyer Marc Elias did not criticize the decisions Pawlenty and Ritchie, but said federal law is more specific than the Minnesota law.

“No doubt, in doing so, they rely on a different section in the law, which we acknowledge creates a tension,” Elias said.