Among people who track such things, Minnesota state election processes are known as some of the cleanest and most reliable in the country.
The recent election for Minnesota's U.S. Senate seat produced a razor-thin margin of victory, initially for Coleman (Republican) and then for Franken (Democrat). Under Minnesota law, an automatic recount was mandated. Court challenges to the recount findings extended the contest.
In certain Republican circles, much was made of the fact that the Secretary of State, a Democrat, oversaw the recount. Be that as it may, the recount was twice challenged in court and twice upheld after the best legal arguments were calmly made and fairly considered by a number of judges as the case made its way up to the state supreme court.
While the Secretary of State was a Democrat, the judiciary cannot be said to be the same. In Minnesota, judicial vacancies are filled by the governor who appoints a someone to fill the seat. In almost all cases, these people are re-elected to the same seats when those positions later come up for election.
The current governor is a Republican. The previous governor was a member of the Independence Party. The governor before him was a Republican who served two terms (maybe more, memory fails me). It has been a long, long time since a Democratic governor has been in office to appoint judges that might be thought to have an unfair Democratic bias.
When Coleman took his case up through the chain, presented his evidence and made well-considered legal arguments, he was fairly treated and got not just his day in court, but his day in court all the way up to the state supreme court. His case was considered on its merits under Minnesota law. He lost and conceded.
While Minnesotans grew weary of the seemingly endless contest and were uncomfortable having one of their two U.S. Senate seats vacant while the contest progressed, I believe most Minnesotans were also willing to let Coleman have his days in the courts all the way up to the state supreme court.
A record now exists of the evidence, arguments made and legal basis for the court rulings. Giving it his best and fairly-granted shot in the courts, Coleman reviewed the results and accepted his defeat.
An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court would have kept the seat vacant for a longer time but would have been unlikely to succeed on legal grounds. The evidence considered and opinions rendered by the Minnesota courts left little doubt that while the victory was razor thin, Franken won the election by receiving the most properly-cast votes.
By the way, I voted for Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley too. My vote is not the property of the Democratic or Republican parties. I am free to cast it for whomever I want. While Democrats or Republicans may consider it a waste because my vote did not go to their candidate, when I vote for my candidate of choice, I am not wasting my vote. I am using it as I see fit.
Lol