SAN DIEGO -- A third lawsuit is expected to be filed later today in the still-undecided San Diego mayoral election, NBC 7/39 reported.

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Results: SD Mayoral Race
Results: SD City Attorney
Results: Prop. A Transnet Tax

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The new suit will be filed by the League of Women Voters and will focus on write-in ballots that have Councilwoman Donna Frye's name written in but don't have the oval next to it filled in, according to NBC 7/39. Election officials say those votes are invalid, but the League's suit will argue that the votes should be counted for Frye.

As of Wednesday morning, Murphy had 153,645 votes. Frye had 151,287 verified votes, although 154,531 write-in ballots had been tallied. Supervisor Ron Roberts trailed the two leaders with 138,478 votes.

"We don't know how many of the outstanding votes will be for Donna at this point," said Marco Gonzales, Donna Frye's attorney. "But we do know there are a substantial number of votes out there where people have written in her name and not filled in the bubble. And we think those votes should count."

Murphy has been gaining on the write-in vote ever since election night, and many observers project that he will win when the remaining 29,000 provisional votes have been verified and tallied. But it could come down to a legal fight over the disputed ballots.

"We need to follow the election law in the state of California," Murphy told NBC 7/39. "Whatever that law is, I'm happy to abide by it. The law appears to require filling in the bubble. But whatever the law is, we'll live with that."

Two lawsuits have already been filed to try to block Frye from becoming mayor. On Monday, a lawsuit to halt the vote count was rejected by a Superior Court judge on grounds that it should have been filed before the election.

Tuesday, a judge refused to nullify the election in another suit filed in federal court.

Previous Stories:

• November 15, 2004: Mayoral Candidates React To Judge's Ruling
• November 15, 2004: Judge Issues Ruling On Challenge To Mayor's Race
• November 12, 2004: San Diego City Manager Resigns
• November 11, 2004: Shrinking Lead May Spell Doom For Frye
• November 9, 2004: Frye Urges Opponents To Denounce Legal Challenge
• November 9, 2004: Lawsuit Claims Frye Candidacy Is 'Unlawful'