The Minnesota Supreme Court rules unanimously in favor of Al Franken in the long-running drama of who won that state’s Senate contest last fall:
We affirm the decision of the trial court that Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast and is entitled under Minn. Stat. ยง 204C.40 (2008) to receive the certificate of election as United States Senator from the State of Minnesota.
Responding to the Court’s decision, our Chair, Anna Burger, calls on Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty to certify Franken’s election and give Minnesotans the full representation in Congress that they deserve:
Now that the Minnesota Supreme Court has made its final ruling, it is time to recognize Al Franken as the duly elected Senator from Minnesota. As is appropriate after any extremely close election, Minnesotans took the time to conduct an extensive and thorough recount process, but now that all reasonable legal options have been exhausted, Minnesota deserves its full representation in Congress. We call on Governor Pawlenty to pursue the state’s best interests and end this contest instead of favoring those who would allow the recount to continue for purely partisan reasons.
During the election, Senator-elect Franken made clear he will work hard to rebuild our economy through real healthcare reform and the Employee Free Choice Act, as well as tackling the long-term challenges we face on the environment, keeping college education affordable and fixing our broken immigration system. Working families need him in the United States Senate to help restore the economy, rebuild the middle class and renew the American Dream for all workers.
UPDATE (4:15PM): Norm Coleman concedes the race to Franken.