March 31 (Bloomberg) -- A Minnesota court will announce next week whether 400 absentee ballots will be counted in the disputed U.S. Senate election between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman.

Today’s decision by the three-judge panel that it will determine the legitimacy of the ballots on April 7 signals one phase of a battle that began in November is almost over. Coleman’s campaign has said it likely will lose this phase and will quickly appeal.

Franken holds a 225-vote lead over Coleman following a recount in January, and Coleman -- who is seeking re-election -- is challenging that result. Coleman had asked the court to order 1,360 absentee ballots counted.

“The math is going to be very difficult for former Senator Coleman and his legal team,” Franken lawyer Marc Elias told reporters in a conference call. “We feel pretty good about where we stand, but we are going to wait until Tuesday for these ballots to be opened and counted because we don’t know what is in the envelopes.”

“It was not the decision that we were hoping for because a lot of Minnesotans were disenfranchised under it,” said Benjamin Ginsberg, Coleman’s campaign attorney.

Earlier this month another Coleman lawyer, Joe Friedberg, told a Minneapolis radio station the court’s ultimate ruling will likely keep Franken in the lead and that the campaign will quickly appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Federal Court Appeal

Last week, Coleman refused to rule out a federal court appeal if he loses in state courts.

The dispute has left Minnesota with one senator, Democrat Amy Klobuchar. Democrats control the U.S. Senate 58-41, and a win by Franken would put them one vote short of the 60 needed to overcome filibusters that can stall legislation.

Franken, 57, a comedian who appeared regularly on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” hosted a national radio program before returning to his home state to challenge Coleman.

Coleman, 59, a former state prosecutor and mayor of St. Paul, won the Senate seat in 2002 and was seeking a second term.

The recount result, announced Jan. 5 by a state canvassing board, put Franken ahead by 225 votes out of about 2.4 million cast for the two men on Nov. 4. The recount was required under state law after an initial count showed Coleman ahead of Franken by a few hundred votes.

Coleman challenged the recount, and the three-judge panel began hearing his case on Jan. 26. The three-judge panel said today that after determining which of the 400 ballots should be opened and counted, it will do so in open court on April 7.

On March 6, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected Franken’s bid to temporarily serve in the Senate while the three-judge panel heard Coleman’s challenge.

Minnesota’s Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a Democrat, had refused to certify Franken as the winner, saying state law barred certification until Coleman’s court challenge was resolved.

To contact the reporters on this story: Christopher Stern in Washington at cstern3@bloomberg.net; Beth Hawkins in St. Paul, Minnesota, at hawkins@visi.com

Last Updated: March 31, 2009 18:46 EDT