The delay in Minnesota having two senators continues.

The state Supreme Court announced today that it will not take up the appeal of former Sen. Norm Coleman (R) until June 1. Coleman went to the court following the ruling of a three-judge panel that Democrat Al Franken was the winner of their hotly contested 2008 Senate race by a 312-vote margin.

 

Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Baier reminds us that neither candidate can take office until the court decides on Coleman's lawsuit:

Coleman's attorneys are expected to argue that the election violated the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause. They contend the state disenfranchised voters when counties in some cases rejected absentee ballots for reasons that other counties did not.

The three-judge panel that heard Coleman's election contest rejected those claims, and found the overwhelming evidence showed officials conducted a fair, impartial and accurate election.

Coleman hopes the high court will reverse several ruling by the three-judge panel. ...

Two of the Minnesota court's seven justices [including the chief justice] plan to sit out the appeal. ... [Both] served on the state board that oversaw the recount in which Franken pulled past Coleman, the race leader after the initial vote count on Election Day.

Note: The election took place 171 days ago.

Our last post on the Minnesota race can be found here.

Tags: Washington Senators