Trump’s Pennsylvania lawsuits invoke Bush v. Gore — but SCOTUS probably won’t decide the election

The Trump campaign has filed two lawsuits in federal court over ballot counting and voting deadlines in Pennsylvania, threatening to take the election to the Supreme Court. Both consciously echo the two main legal theories of Bush v. Gore, the infamous Supreme Court case that decided the contested 2000 presidential election.

But this race is not likely to be decided by the Supreme Court. There are several reasons, sitting at the intersection of law and politics, why the ghosts of Florida past won't rise again in Pennsylvania. As a law professor who's authored a book on election reform, I rate success in Trump's efforts to wrench back Biden's lead through litigation as a real long shot, though not out of the question.

Equal protection

Trump's latest Pennsylvania lawsuit draws on the "equal protection" argument cited in Bush v. Gore.