Bridgeport is taking things ballot-by-ballot in a legal challenge to the mayoral race.

Both sides of the challenge are haggling over every single absentee ballot in the very slow process – going over every possible mistake with them.

The stakes are high -- Mayor Joe Ganim is fighting to keep his spot on the November ballot. He beat state Sen. Marilyn Moore in last month's Democratic primary.

But the lawsuit is trying to toss out that race because of questionable absentee ballots. On Tuesday, the city asked a judge to dismiss the case. They say even if some ballot shouldn't have been counted, it's not enough to change the outcome of the race.

"We're talking about a 270 vote margin of victory," says Bridgeport Deputy City Attorney John Bohannon. "Tops, we're talking about 15 to 25 votes that if you look at the plaintiff's evidence under the best possible light, could result in miscounted votes."

So far, the judge hasn't ruled on the motion to throw this case out. The clock is ticking on the case, with Election Day just three weeks away.