Norm Coleman Republican Al Franken Democratic (DFL) The 2008 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 4, 2008.

[10][11] Coleman's appeal of the panel's decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court was unanimously rejected on June 30,[12] and he subsequently conceded the election.

Each party's respective primary was held on September 9, resulting in Barkley, Franken and Coleman on the general election ballot.

Though Stephen Williams was endorsed by the Independence Party,[21] he lost to former Senator Dean Barkley by over 51 points and was third place in the primary behind Jack Uldrich.

After all the votes were tallied, Coleman led Franken by 215 votes—well under the 0.5% margin that triggers a mandatory recount according to state law.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie called these changes "well within the normal range in the days immediately following an election, when county officials double check and verify election night tabulations reported to the secretary of state's office", while Coleman's campaign decried the "improbable shifts that are overwhelmingly accruing to the benefit of Al Franken.

Note: The ±% column reflects the change in total number of votes won by each party from the previous election.

[68] Representatives of Coleman and Franken observed the sorting and recounting of the ballots at 120 locations across the state on November 19, and largely finished on December 5.

[69] Of the 4130 precincts in Minnesota, one had to delay reporting its totals because election officials deduced that 133 ballots, all in a single envelope, had gone missing during the recount process.

According to the AP,[79] MPR,[80] and the Star Tribune,[81] the resolution of these challenges marked the first time Franken took a lead in the recount.

On December 30, the board finished reallocating the withdrawn challenges, completing that phase of the recount and leaving Franken with a 49-vote lead.

The "fifth pile" of wrongly rejected absentee ballots was opened, checked for identifying marks, and counted (where found eligible) on January 3, 2009.

[8] Former Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson, a Republican who did not endorse a candidate in the 2008 Senate race, called for Coleman to concede.

[90] Note: The ±% column reflects the change in total number of votes won by each party from the previous election.

State law requires a seven-day delay from the Canvassing Board's final report until the certificate can be issued and signed by Ritchie and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

Senate Republican leaders countered this by insisting that Franken respect Minnesota laws and allow the completion of the legal review.

[101][104] Under Minnesota law the chief justice of the state Supreme Court appoints a three-judge panel to hear an election contest.

[105] Page chose Judge Elizabeth A. Hayden of Stearns County (who was first appointed by DFL governor Rudy Perpich) to preside over the contest.

[106] On January 12, Franken filed a motion to dismiss Coleman's contest, claiming it was "an imprecise and scattershot pleading".

[100] On January 22, Franken's attorneys also argued that the case should not go to trial because the U.S. Senate, not the court system, has the power under the United States Constitution to judge the election of its members.

Coleman's legal team ran into trouble on the first day when the judges refused to enter into evidence copies of the envelopes from allegedly wrongly rejected absentee ballots.

After closing arguments, Franken lead attorney Marc Elias said: "After seven weeks of trial, hundreds of witnesses, and thousands of exhibits, the trial demonstrated what the state canvassing board found to be true after an exhaustive recount: that Al Franken got more votes on Election Day than Norm Coleman.

We remain confident that the court will uphold the results of the election and allow Al Franken to begin the work the voters of Minnesota hired him to do.

[11][121] Note: This table combines the certified results of January 5, 2009, listed above with the added absentee ballots from April 7, 2009, 198 for Franken and 111 for Coleman.

[135] On June 30, the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously rejected Coleman's challenge and stated that Franken was entitled to be certified as the winner.

[138] In July 2010, Minnesota Majority, a conservative watchdog group, conducted a study in which it flagged 2,803 voters in the Senate race for examination, including 1,359 it suspected to be ineligible convicted felons in the largely Democratic Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

"[145] Columnist Nick Coleman of the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune called the idea that illegal voting by felons made a difference in the race "unbelievable" and the Minnesota Majority report "good fodder for a right-wing scare campaign.

[140] In August 2010, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office received for investigation 110 alleged cases of voter fraud during the 2008 election.

In October 2010, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office concluded that there was enough evidence to charge six people for voter fraud.

"[147] In October 2010, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced that charges would be brought against 43 felons for illegally voting in 2008.