Appeals court rejects Burris' election bid

A federal appeals court in Chicago has rejected U.S. Sen. Roland Burris' bid to run in a special election for his seat.

The special election will decide who serves the final two months of the term, which began when Barack Obama entered the Senate in 2005. Burris was appointed to the seat after Obama became president.

Burris isn't seeking a full Senate term in November. But he's challenging a federal court's decision to limit the special election to candidates running for a full U.S. Senate term.

The Chicago Democrat contends that unfairly disenfranchises other candidates for the short-term vacancy. But the Chicago Tribune reports that the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Burris' argument Monday.

The candidates running for U.S. Senate are: Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, Republican Mark Kirk, Green Party candidate LeAlan Jones and Libertarian Mike Labno.