The suit seeks to toss out some 15,000 absentee ballots in Seminole, which would give the election to Gore, whose lawyers chose not to make the case a part of their elections challenge. On Friday, a new, similar case was filed from Martin County, a Republican stronghold just north of Palm Beach. That case was assigned to a third Leon County judge, Terry Lewis. Democratic lawyers say it's an even stronger claim than the Seminole case because GOP workers were allowed to remove the absentee ballot applications from the office of the Martin elections supervisor, also a Republican. But they asked not to consolidate the complaint with the Seminole case, out of fears that it could prolong the proceeding.
Republicans claim both cases are based on minor technicalities.
No GOP workers ever touched actual ballots, and there is no claim of fraud or any effort to interfere with voter intent, they argue. With those cases pending next week, the Saturday showdown over the vote recount in Sauls' courtroom takes center stage. Gore's lawyers plan to call only two witnesses, including one voting machinery expert who will apparently testify about the problems with the now-famous chads and dimpled ballots. Gore's lawyers contend that thousands of ballots weren't counted by machines because voters failed to completely punch out the chads, leaving only indentations, or dimples. In their court filings, the Bush team listed 90 potential witnesses, including the governors of New York and New Jersey and former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole.