As the three-judge panel in Minnesota's Senate election contest continues to build suspense for its key rulings, a related case saw some minor action today.

Throughout the main trial, there's been a thread of Franken-leaning voters who have petitioned the court to have their ballots opened and, eventually, their votes counted.

At the start of the process, there were 61 of them, all represented by Minneapolis lawyer Charles Nauen. So far, Judges Elizabeth Hayden, Kurt Marben and Denise Reilly have ordered 35 of his clients' ballots to be opened.

Today, in a filing with the court, Norm Coleman's lawyers asked that two of three Nauen voters be blocked from having their ballots opened. The voters provided the court with additional information on their ballots recently, attempting to satisfy the judges' acceptable categories.

The Coleman side wrote it reluctantly sought to block the ballots because "These voters have not met their burden of proof."

To see the entire motion, go here and go to the first link on the top of the page.

Again, the world awaits how many total ballots the judges will order opened and counted. And then there are a variety of key matters -- such as the 132 missing Minneapolis ballots -- on which the judges have yet to rule.