Questions in the Senate

As the 111th Congress gets underway, there is special focus on the Senate, where two controversial scenarios are unfolding involving Senate seats in Minnesota and Illinois.

 

In the Minnesota Senate race, Republican Senator Norm Coleman initially appeared to win reelection over Democrat challenger Al Franken by 215 votes.  However, after numerous legal challenges by Franken, as well as several controversial decisions by the Minnesota Canvassing Board that conducted the recount, Franken is claiming a 225 vote victory and asking the U.S. Senate to seat him. 

 

Given the unusual circumstances surrounding the election and the recount, several Republican Senators, lead by John Cornyn of Texas, threatened to filibuster any attempts to seat Al Franken. Senate Majority Leader Reid, while personally believing that Franken is the winner, has refused to seat Franken, properly adhering to a Minnesota state law that prohibits a Senator from being seated if the election is still under contest.  Also under Minnesota law, Senator Coleman has seven days to file his contest, and he plans to do so later today or tomorrow.

 

While no one knows the final outcome of Senator Colemans challenge, Minnesotans should be very interested in ensuring that the issues at play are dealt with properly.  For example, there are reports that more than 25 precincts in Minnesota currently have more ballots than they had voters on election night.  One likely reason for this:  election officials that made errors when handling duplicate ballots created when the original ballot was damaged.  But one way or another, it appears that some votes may have been counted twice.

 

Further, there appears to be some inconsistency in how the Canvassing Board determined which votes to count.  In some cases where the total from election night differed from the recount total, the Board chose to count the election night total.  In other cases, they determined that the recount total was the appropriate figure.  This has raised further questions.

 

Third, there's significant cause for concern that not all of the legal absentee ballots have been counted.  Minnesota law allows each county to submit a list of ballots which they believe to have been wrongly rejected by election officials.  Some counties have completed this process, but others have not.  It can be argued that certifying a winner before this process is completed is paramount to disenfranchising Minnesota voters.

 

Fortunately, it appears the U.S. Senate has recognized this fact, and has conceded that there is no constitutional authority to seat Franken at this time.  The success of our form of government hinges on fair elections, and it is my hope that the situation in Minnesota will conclude with a full and fair review of every vote. 

 

Once this process is completed, the legitimate winner should be declared and certified, regardless of party.  Anything short of this, including allowing some of the partisan tactics that have been used thus far to stand, would be a travesty.

 

Another interesting situation involves the Illinois Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.  Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who is the target of a federal corruption investigation, has appointed former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to the seat. 

 

However, the Illinois Secretary of State refused to certify the nomination, and just a few hours ago, Majority Leader Harry Reid refused to seat Burris. It appears this matter will ultimately be decided by the State of Illinois, which must determine whether or not Governor Blagojevich still retains the authority to appoint a successor to President-elect Obamas Senate seat. 

 

If it is determined that the nomination is valid, the Secretary of State will be required to certify the nomination and Mr. Burris will be seated.

 

As these developments continue to unfold in Minnesota and Illinois, we will keep you posted on the final outcome and makeup of the U.S. Senate.