Kaelan Deese writes for the Washington Examiner that the U.S. Supreme Court could have a significant impact on next year’s elections.
Twenty-three years ago, the United States endured one of the strangest presidential elections in history when the Supreme Court decided who would be the victor after more than a month of uncertainty. Now, the 2024 election could look similar in several ways and possibly be even more chaotic.
The so-called hanging chads election of 2000 between George W. Bush and Al Gore was handled by recounting small bits of cardboard attached to incompletely hole-punched Florida ballots. The high court ultimately ruled Florida’s recount should be stopped on equal protection grounds and gave the victory to Bush despite Gore winning the popular vote.
Fast-forward 20 years to the post-2020 election months that were plagued by dissonant claims of “election fraud” by former President Donald Trump and his allies, which resulted in an unprecedented riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Around that time, the Supreme Court was denying numerous bids to litigate the outcome of President Joe Biden’s win, as U.S. intelligence and Justice Department officials swore that no fraud altered the results of the election.
The forthcoming 2024 election could prompt the Supreme Court to make landscape-altering decisions even before the potential for post-Election Day challenges like the Bush v. Gore case. …
… The Supreme Court has already asked Trump to respond to Smith’s filing by Dec. 20, and the high court’s next move could be game-changing. Justices could agree to take up the case, side with Chutkan’s previous ruling, and keep the trial on track for March 4. On the other hand, an unlikely siding with Trump could kill the entire case Smith has brought against him. …
… Another way the Supreme Court could affect the 2024 election is through the litany of so-called insurrection clause challenges to Trump’s eligibility to appear on state ballots.
