Current:Home > ScamsCourts could see a wave of election lawsuits, but experts say the bar to change the outcome is high -GrowthInsight
Courts could see a wave of election lawsuits, but experts say the bar to change the outcome is high
View
Date:2025-04-14 08:00:50
WASHINGTON (AP) — When the Supreme Court stepped into the 2000 presidential race, Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore were separated by a razor-thin margin. The court’s decision to halt the recount of votes in Florida effectively delivered the election to Bush and shaped the nation’s future.
The case is perhaps the most notable modern example of the judicial branch having a direct involvement after an election, but it’s not the only time judges have been drawn into postelection disputes.
America’s court system has no formal role in the election process, and judges generally try not to get involved because they don’t want to be seen as interfering or shaping a partisan outcome, said Paul Schiff Berman, a professor at George Washington University Law School.
But election disputes have increasingly landed in court since Bush v. Gore, Berman said.
This year could be especially contentious, coming after more than 60 unsuccessful lawsuits where then-President Donald Trump falsely claimed that he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden due to massive voter fraud. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed this year, mostly concerning relatively small matters.
“We have a long history in this country of a democratic process that operates in a nonpartisan manner with regard to vote counting that does not require constant court intervention, but that norm has been shattered in the same way that many of our democratic norms have been shattered since 2016,” Berman said.
Court cases could start election night over whether to keep polling places open if they experienced trouble affecting access during the day.
After the votes are all cast, lawsuits over the vote count could be next. That could involve claims about the counting of certain ballots, allegations against the election officials overseeing the count, disputes over the methodology or challenges to the certification of the vote totals in each state.
There could be lawsuits over recent updates to the Electoral Count Act, which governs the certification of the presidential contest. The revisions were passed by Congress in 2022 in response to Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 results by pressuring his vice president, Mike Pence, over congressional certification of the states’ electors.
How much a lawsuit might affect the outcome of an election depends on how many votes are in dispute and what kind of a solution a judge might order if a problem is found. In some cases, “It isn’t clear what the remedy would be if these suits were successful,” said Steven Schneebaum, an attorney and adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University.
If the 2024 race is very close, court rulings could affect the outcome, especially in the swing states that will be key to the election. But for a lawsuit to affect the race, the election would have to be so close that the court would have to determine how people voted or one side would have to prove a major, fundamental problem with how it was run, said Rick Hasen, an elections expert and law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“The standard to overturn an election is extremely high, for good reason,” he said. “We want elections to be decided by voters, not courts.”
____
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Today’s news: Follow live updates from the campaign trail from the AP.
- Ground Game: Sign up for AP’s weekly politics newsletter to get it in your inbox every Monday.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
Read more about how U.S. elections work at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
veryGood! (5115)
Related
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Marathon World-Record Holder Kelvin Kiptum Dead at 24 After Car Crash
- Police identify Genesse Moreno as shooter at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church: What we know
- See the Best Looks From New York Fashion Week’s Fall/Winter 2024 Runways
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- How Patrick Mahomes led Chiefs on a thrilling 13-play, 75-yard Super Bowl 58 winning drive
- Court documents identify Houston megachurch shooter and say AR-style rifle was used in attack
- Post-Roe v. Wade, more patients rely on early prenatal testing as states toughen abortion laws
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Good Samaritan rushes to help victims of Naples, Florida plane crash: 'Are they alive?'
Ranking
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Look back at 6 times Beyoncé has 'gone country' ahead of new music album announcement
- Mega Millions winning numbers for February 9 as jackpot climbs to $394 million
- 'The voice we woke up to': Bob Edwards, longtime 'Morning Edition' host, dies at 76
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Storming of Ecuador TV station by armed men has ominous connection: Mexican drug cartels
- Hot tubs have many benefits, but is weight loss one of them?
- Shaq, Ye and Elon stroll by Taylor Swift's Super Bowl suite. Who gets in?
Recommendation
Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
Smoking in cars with kids is banned in 11 states, and West Virginia could be next
Usher obtained marriage license with girlfriend Jennifer Goicoechea in Las Vegas before Super Bowl
Been putting off Social Security? 3 signs it's time to apply.
Trump's 'stop
Super Bowl photos: Chiefs, Taylor Swift celebrate NFL title
'Has anyone seen my wife?': Ryan Reynolds searches for Blake Lively during Super Bowl 58
President Biden's personal attorney Bob Bauer says Hur report was shoddy work product