Less than one week until Election Day, and not only are voters heading to the polls in droves, but lawyers are heading to the courthouse. There are multiple election-related cases already pending in courts across the country, including questions over provisional ballots in Pennsylvania and whether non-citizens can be removed from the voter rolls in Virginia. At the same time, both parties are preparing to possibly contest results in multiple states. All of this could lead to one or more key election issues---or even the election itself---ultimately being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Generally, the high court tries to stay out of hot-button political decisions around election time, and most legal experts believe that will happen again this year. But if the election is extremely close or both sides are contesting a particular issue, the justices may have no choice but to get involved. "If the Supreme Court doesn't take a case, that might mean that some state court decides an issue that could determine the state of the entire country," says Josh Blackman, professor at South Texas College of Law-Houston. "And if there's an issue of federal law at play that depends on how the Constitution is interpreted, I think the Supreme Court should have the final say, or at least something close to it."
"There's a prayer among election workers that it won't be that close, that it's a solid win by a good majority, and then we don't have to worry about these legal disputes," he continues.
Ultimately, whether the Supreme Court is dragged into the fray will depend not only on how close the election is, but who wins (or who is ahead). "Whatever happens in the courts, we still have a joint session of Congress on January 6th," says Blackman. "And depending on who has the majority, like if Democrats control both Houses, they might decide to do their own 'stop the steal' to prevent Trump from winning the election."
"So, nothing is beyond the realm of possibility at this point."
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