From Sean Cockerham in Juneau --

State Senate Democrats are refusing to vote on the three names that Gov. Sarah Palin forwarded as appointees for the open Senate seat. They obtained a legal opinion this morning saying it is illegal for Palin to submit more than one name.

“There is nothing for us to vote on, there is no appointment,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Hollis French, an Anchorage Democrat. “The governor has taken an unusual course which is outside the law and leaves us no choice but to ignore what she‘s done.”

I caught up with the governor’s attorney general appointee, Wayne Anthony Ross, in the Capitol. Ross said he needs to review the legal opinion by Pam Finley, a lawyer for the Legislature. But he said he believes what Palin did was legal and appropriate, given the time he's had to look at it to this point.

"It seems to me the most important thing that can be done by the Senate is not argue with legal or illegal but to appoint somebody to represent Juneau," said Ross, whose own appointment is up for a confirmation vote by the Legislature tomorrow.

Ross said the dispute could impact the vote on his confirmation.

"I get involved in this kind of donnybrook I probably won't get any votes from the people that disagree with me. I may be through tomorrow afternoon, who knows. But I'm hoping I'll get a chance to be confirmed," Ross said.

Palin surprised lawmakers Tuesday night by forwarding the names of three appointees to the single open state Senate seat.

Two of them, Tim Grussendorf and Joe Nelson, have already been rejected by the Senate Democrats. The third, Alan Wilson, is a Juneau contractor who became a Democrat on March 4, and was previously registered nonpartisan.

Palin must appoint a Democrat from Juneau to the seat, which opened when longtime Juneau Democratic Sen. Kim Elton resigned for an Obama administration job. Palin said Senate Democrats could choose from among the three names.

Her pick requires approval of a majority of the nine state Senate Democrats.

(Update -- Here's the Finley legal opinion.)