Norm Coleman said Tuesday that the three judges hearing the U.S. Senate recount trial will have to ponder whether they'll be able to decide who won the election.
Coleman, a Republican, questioned whether the panel will be able to certify him or DFLer Al Franken as the candidate with more legitimate votes. "I think the court is going to have to reflect on that," Coleman said during a break in the trial, which is in its sixth week as he challenges recount results showing Franken ahead by 225 votes.
Coleman's team finished its side of the case on Monday -- the same day that Coleman attorney James Langdon wrote the judges to suggest that problems with the election were so serious that the panel may not be able to declare a winner. Franken's campaign began presenting its case on Tuesday in the St. Paul courtroom.
Asked about Langdon's letter, Franken attorney Marc Elias said during a midday break that there was "no precedent ... in Minnesota that would suggest that one could simply start over again."
He also dismissed the Coleman claim that varying practices by counties led to similar ballots being counted and rejected in different places. "We believe the evidence will show that the counties did a good job," Elias said.
Elias has said, and the court has concurred, that there has been no evidence of fraud or systemic problems in Minnesota's election system.
Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg said Tuesday that the campaign wasn't calling on the court to order a new election but to reverse its Feb. 13 order limiting the number of rejected absentee ballots that might be counted. Having more ballots considered is a key part of Coleman's effort to reverse the outcome.
Franken side calls witnesses