Lawyered up

Elections | This year’s post-election calm in the courts may stem from a pre-election litigious roar, but battles over voter fraud continue | Mark Bergin

Prior to the 2000 presidential election, before "hanging chads" and "butterfly ballots" invaded the country's popular vernacular, most U.S. citizens believed in the security of the national election process: one person, one vote. Democracy seemed simple and safe.

But in the wake of that critical night six years ago—and subsequent disputes at the gubernatorial and presidential levels in 2004—Republicans and Democrats geared up for a bitterly contested midterm election Nov. 7. Both parties positioned thousands of lawyers at critical polling locations and call centers throughout the country. The Justice Department prepared for the worst, too, deploying an unprecedented 850 officials to monitor the process. Many election workers predicted that new electronic touch-screen machines would foster a whole new wave of legal complaints and contested outcomes that might bog down the country with undetermined races for weeks or months after Election Day.