ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Former Sen. Norm Coleman on Tuesday said it may not be possible for a court to determine who won Minnesota's disputed U.S. Senate election, and judges may need to "think about" tossing the results out entirely.
Lawyers for Democrat Al Franken, who leads Coleman by 225 votes after a statewide recount, ridiculed the idea of voiding the election.
Speaking during a break in the trial of his election lawsuit, the Republican said he's not sure how the court can certify a winner when "the number of illegal ballots may far exceed the difference in the candidates." Coleman's comments came after his lawyers wrote to the judges a day earlier to raise the possibility of setting aside the election.
"In the end, I do think that's something that folks will have to think about," he said.
Whether the judges could do that is an open question. Franken's campaign submitted its own letter saying the court lacks the authority to make such a ruling. Outside court, Franken lawyer Marc Elias more strongly condemned the suggestion.
"There is no precedent, there is no law, there is no statute, there is no rule in Minnesota that would suggest that one could simply start over again," Elias said. "I don't know where the Coleman legal team got that from."
Coleman's lawsuit aims to overturn Franken's lead, making various claims that some votes were counted that shouldn't have been and some ballots that were rejected should have counted.
Franken's lawyers began presenting their case Tuesday, summoning a stream of absentee voters whose ballots were turned away on or before Election Day.
