>I am curious as to how closely many of you are following the election issue. In your opinion, what issue is more important:
>
>- The results of the election
>- Federalism


I would add a third major concern to your list: Democracy.

Then I would order the concerns this way:

1) Democracy
2) Federalism
3) The results (Bush or Gore)

This article sheds interesting light on the stakes of the USSC case:

http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/12/12/latimes.equalprotection/


>TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Los Angeles Times) -- At the core of the case that George W. Bush presented Monday to the U.S. Supreme Court was a legal argument that Democrats believe could reshape America's voting system in ways that ultimately benefit Democrats more than Republicans.

>Texas Gov. Bush's lawyers argued that the hand recount authorized Friday by the Florida Supreme Court violated the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantee because the lack of common standards for measuring voter intent meant that voters in different counties would have their ballots treated differently.

>If the court agrees and blocks further recounts, Bush would become president. But legal analysts say that if the high court accepts that argument, it would open the door for Democrats and civil rights groups to argue that it also violates the equal protection clause to use punch card ballots in some counties and more sophisticated optical scanning equipment in others.

>The reason: Voters using punch cards are far more likely than those using optical scanners to have their votes rejected by tabulating machines.

>"If they say that the lack of consistency in counting ballots is a violation of equal protection, then the lack of consistency that results from different machines is also a violation of equal protection," said Erwin Chemerinsky, a USC law professor.

>That could enormously benefit Democrats, because punch-card systems tend to be used more in lower-income, Democratic-leaning counties. Overall, just under one-fifth of counties use the punch-card system. Switching to optical counting equipment in those counties--not only in Florida but around the country--could add thousands of predominantly Democratic votes now rejected by machines that tabulate punch cards.


Considering that over a hundred-thousand votes were lost in Florida alone (both Dem and Rep), then I think that "add thousands of predominantly Democratic votes" is an understatement. Country-wide we could be talking over a million votes lost due to poor equipment in Democratic counties.

For the Democrats this could be a case of losing the battle but winning the war.

Greens in Alaska brought an "equal protection" suit attempting to bar campaign contributions from persons outside of Alaska. I'm fuzzy on the details but the argument was that these contributions reduced the effect that Alaskans had on the outcome of the Alaska elections. I imagine that a USSC ruling in favor of Bush would strengthen this argument.

Peter