Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said today that Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty “would be making a big mistake if he fails to certify Democrat Al Franken as the winner of the state’s disputed Senate race when the time comes,” Congressional Quarterly reports.
New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer , the third ranking Democrat, said Democrats expect the Minnesota Supreme Court to affirm Franken as the winner of the race against Republican Norm Coleman.
An inquiry to Gov. Tim Pawlenty ’s office was not immediately returned Thursday.
“The law’s clearly on our side, and I think Gov. Pawlenty ignores it at his peril,” said Schumer, who chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the 2008 cycle. “And it may be — it may well be that the Supreme Court requires him to sign it.”
The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments June 1 on Coleman’s appeal of the Senate race results.
Governor Pawlenty “has not said whether he would certify Franken as the winner if the state’s high court rules against Coleman.” That question would become “more complicated if Coleman decides to try to take his appeal to the federal courts, an idea that top Senate Republicans — including National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn of Texas — have talked about.”
Democrats have ruled out the possibility of trying to seat Franken before the state Supreme Court rules and Schumer’s comments signal that they may move to seat him if Pawlenty refuses to certify Franken.
“Pawlenty’s signature is very, very important. We expect it to happen after the Supreme Court of Minnesota rules,” Schumer said. “That’s what we believe the law is, clearly and unequivocally. If he refuses to sign, we’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Notably, Republican Norm Coleman officially filed his appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court today, the AP reports.
Former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman wants Minnesota’s highest court to order the counting of at least 1,359 additional ballots and possibly thousands more in his Senate race.
Coleman filed an appeal Thursday to the state Supreme Court. He’s seeking to overcome Democrat Al Franken’s lead of 312 votes after a recount and trial.
The brief says there was "overwhelming evidence of disparate treatment" in the standards used by counties to accept absentee ballots during the recount.
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