In Senate Trial, Coleman Turns To Bush VS. Gore

The success of Norm Coleman's lawsuit to reclaim a Minnesota Senate seat could depend on how willing the trial judges are to find a precedent in the Supreme Court ruling from another messy election battle. The case was Bush v. Gore. Republican Coleman's greatest hope to overtake Democrat Al Franken's 225-vote lead is his argument that about 11,000 rejected absentee ballots should be given another look.His lawyers argue that many were rejected while others with similar mistakes were counted. A former general counsel to the Republican National Committee says it's a long shot. But Jan Baran also says it worked for George Bush against Al Gore in 2000. In that case, Bush's lawyers got the Supreme Court to agree that Gore's push to recount the votes in four Florida counties would result in inconsistent standards among counties.