Democrats Hold Secret Edge If Election Is Too Close to Call

Twenty years ago, as Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush battled for weeks over which one of them had won the U.S. presidential election, Florida’s Republican secretary of state, Katherine Harris, helped hand the White House to Bush by declaring an end to recounts that showed him clinging to the slimmest of leads.

If the outcome of this November’s election comes down to fights over counting mail-in ballots and claims of fraud by President Donald Trump, Democrat Joe Biden may have a quiet advantage: The top election officials...