Minnesota Supreme Court Confirms Franken's Election; Coleman Concedes

On Tuesday the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously affirmed Al Franken's election as a U.S. Senator.

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - In a 5-0 decision, the state Supreme Court confirmed that Al Franken was duly elected as the U.S. Senator from Minnesota. The ruling affirms the same finding by a three-judge panel on April 14.

Franken, the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian, has been battling Republican candidate Norm Coleman in the courts regarding the closely contested race. A difference of only 312 votes, with 2.9 million votes cast, separated the two.

In its ruling, the court supported the finding of the lower court and stated, "The trial court did not err when it included in the final election tally the election day returns of a precinct in which some ballots were lost before the manual recount."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., issued a statement, saying that Minnesotans will "finally get the brilliant and hardworking new senator" they elected in November.

"After all the votes have been counted and recounted, the Minnesota Supreme Court has made the final determination that Minnesotans have chosen Al Franken to help their state and our country get back on track," Reid said in the statement, adding that Pawlenty should "respect the votes of his constituents" and sign the election certificate.

Just after the announcement, Norm Coleman issued a statement from his home conceding the election the election.

Senator Norm Coleman today made the following statement at his home in St. Paul:

"Ours is a government of laws, not men and women. The Supreme Court of Minnesota has spoken and I respect its decision and will abide by the result. It's time for Minnesota to come together under the leaders it has chosen and move forward. I join all Minnesotans in congratulating our newest United States Senator - Al Franken.

"Just a few last words about my legal challenge. Sure, I wanted to win. Not just for myself but for my wonderful supporters and the important values I have always fought for. I also thought it was important to stand up for enfranchising thousands of Minnesotans whose votes weren't counted like the others were. After all, issues and politicians come and go, but voting is fundamental.

"It is the essence of democracy so I knew we needed to do everything we could to get it right.

"I am forever grateful and humbled by the people of Minnesota who have given me the honor to represent them - and even more grateful for their wisdom, courage, patience and understanding over these past several months.

"The path that I take in the future is not nearly as important today as the path that we must now -- all travel on together -- to strengthen our state and our nation.

"I have never believed that my service is irreplaceable. We have reached the point where further litigation damages the unity of our state, which is also fundamental. In these tough times, we all need to focus on the future. And the future today is we have a new United States Senator.

"I congratulate Al Franken and his victory in this election. He now enjoys the advantage that our Congressional Delegation has over the other 525 people on Capitol Hill: he represents Minnesota..."

"Thank you and may God bless Minnesota and America."

The Minnesota seat will give Senate Democrats further leverage, in a 60 seat majority, for passing their legislative initiatives.

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