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Mark Zdechlik
Minneapolis

Franken confident he'll prevail

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DFL Senate candidate Al Franken said this morning he does not think Republican Norm Coleman will win his appeal of the three-judge panel's ruling that Franken got more votes last November than Coleman.

Franken spoke with reporters after making brief remarks at an Earth Day celebration in southeast Minneapolis.

Franken said he's confident Gov. Tim Pawlenty will sign an election certificate once the state Supreme Court has finished its work on Coleman's appeal.

"We're very confident about winning that, and once that is over we are confident that I will be seated and be able to get to work," Franken said.

In his appeal, filed Monday, Coleman is asking the justices to overturn the lower court ruling. He argues that different counties applied different interpretations of state standards for counting absentee votes.

On Wednesday, Coleman's lawyers responded to Franken's request for a speedy trial by suggesting a lenghthier timetable than what Franken wants.

Franken's lawyers asked that all legal briefs be filed by May 4, and that oral arguments take place "very shortly" after that.

Coleman's attorneys suggested that the deadline for final briefs be May 15 instead, 11 days later. They asked only that the court schedule arguments "at a time convenient to it."

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)