Dec 3, 2008 10:49 pm US/Central
Reality Check: Could The Senate Pick Our Senator?
(WCCO)
The U.S. Senate alone decides on the qualifications of every one of its members.
IN FACT, a little-known
provision in the U.S. Constitution gives the Senate the final word on any disputed election.
Most recently, they did so in 1974.
It's TRUE.
A Republican
won by a very close margin in the New Hampshire Senate seat there 34 years ago, but two recounts changed the results.
It all ended up in the U.S. Senate, which called a new election. Then, the Democrat won.
But that's NOT THE WHOLE STORY.
Many times in U.S. history, the Senate expelled members, barred some from serving, investigated voting irregularities, and called new elections.
So it is worth noting that Senate Democratic Majority Leader
Harry Reid says he has 'great concerns' about Minnesota's recount process. Not only that, the Al Franken campaign says it's prepared to take its ballot fight to the U.S. Senate, if that's where it leads.
"Whether it is at the county level, before the state canvassing board, before the courts of Minnesota or before the United States Senate," said Marc Elias, Franken's Recount Attorney. "We do not know."
Here's what you NEED TO KNOW.
Before the recount is finished, the Franken campaign wants to include some rejected absentee ballots, and there's legal precedent for that. It's what Governor George Bush did to
win Florida, and the presidency, in 2000.
That's Reality Check.
To check the resources for this Reality Check, click on the links below.
U.S. Senate: Constitution Of The United States
U.S. Senate: Closest Election in Senate History
The New Yorker Digital Reader
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