Norm Coleman's recount effort suffered another blow -- although somewhat expected -- this morning when the Minnesota Supreme Court denied Coleman's effort to count an additional 654 previously rejected absentee ballots.

The court's decision clears the way for the Minnesota Canvassing Board to declare Al Franken as the candidate with the most votes when it meets today at 2:30 p.m.

Local election officials statewide had previously determined these 654 ballots ruled shouldn't be counted. Coleman's side thought otherwise.

Coleman lawyers said there were valid ballots in that group. They questioned if a previous Supreme Court ruling had been properly followed by local election officials.

But in an order written by Associate Justice Alan Page, the court wrote: "The record before us … demonstrates that local election officials have acted diligently and in accordance with our orders."

For the full court opinion, check here and go to the middle of the page. It's filled with previous rulings. Look for the "Order, 1-5-09."

Big caveat: This ruling in no way prevents Coleman from raising the uncounted ballots issue later in a post-recount election contest litigation.

More on the board's meeting this afternoon on MinnPost.com.