Court rejects all of Miller's challenges

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- The Alaska Supreme Court Wednesday rejected all of GOP Senate nominee Joe Miller's legal claims and found ballots in the Nov. 2 election were counted properly.

The unanimous ruling leaves Miller with few options in his effort to prevent certification of Sen. Lisa Murkowski -- who lost to Miller in the Republican primary and then ran a write-in campaign -- as the winner, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

"There are no remaining issues raised by Miller that prevent this election from being certified," the court found.

Miller, who trails Murkowski by more than 10,000 votes, may press his case in federal court, the newspaper said. Federal Judge Ralph Beistline -- who has ordered Alaska officials not to certify Murkowski as the winner while the matter is being adjudicated -- said he would decide "as soon as possible" whether to lift the order following the state Supreme Court ruling.

Beistline Wednesday said Miller may have until Monday to present constitutional issues that should be argued in federal courts, the newspaper said.

Randy Desoto, a spokesman for Miller, said the campaign was "disappointed the Alaska Supreme Court has ignored the plain text of Alaska law."

"We are reviewing the court's ruling and will be weighing our options," Desoto said in a statement.

Murkowski campaign manager Kevin Sweeney said he expects Miler "will continue to pursue his baseless claims in federal court until his money runs out."