Just how long that battle will last is hard to say. At some point Gore – or Bush – could decide that the fight is too damaging to himself and the country and concede the race. If neither does, the lawyers could drag this thing out for weeks or even months.

The Democrats got a break last week when state circuit court Judge Kathleen Kroll issued what may have been the first court order in history freezing the results of a presidential election, barring local officials from certifying Palm Beach County’s ballots at least until a hearing this week. At first, Democratic lawyers had filed their case in federal court in West Palm Beach, where they were assigned a Reagan-appointed judge, Kenneth Ryskamp. The lawyers soon dropped the case there and refiled in state circuit court, where they drew Kroll – a liberal Democrat married to a Clinton-appointed Labor Department official. That doesn’t, of course, mean Kroll will be an automatic pushover for the Democrats. But some Republicans have complained that the Gore side is shopping for sympathetic judges.

If Judge Kroll refuses to dismiss the case, she might need weeks to hear evidence. If Gore’s side prevails, the lawyers could ask her to order a new vote in the heavily Democratic community – or to bar Florida’s electors from participating in the Dec. 18 Electoral College meeting, votes Bush needs to win.

Bush’s team could try to put a quick end to the lawsuit by going to Florida State Supreme Court – and if necessary, the U.S. Supreme Court – arguing that a state judge has no power to alter the official results of a presidential election, unless there’s evidence of fraud. Another option is to try to force the whole mess back to federal court. There, Bush’s lawyers could hope to end up on a faster track before more-accomplished judges – who are also more likely to be Republican. Bush aides have already hinted that they could also bring lawsuits in other closely contested states, like Wisconsin and Oregon, where voting irregularities have been alleged – potentially throwing open dozens of counties to legal challenges.

While the wrangling unfolds, both sides are searching for legal precedents to support their claims. Democratic lawyers point to a 1998 Florida State Supreme Court ruling that an election can be voided when there is “reasonable doubt” that the vote reflected “the will” of the electorate. Republicans are focusing on a 1997 U.S. Supreme Court case reaffirming a federal law that elections for Congress and the president must be held on the same day nationwide. That ruling, Bush’s lawyers argue, would make any Democratic efforts to force a re-vote in Palm Beach County unconstitutional. So which side is right? Ultimately, that may be up to the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, whose votes could be the last ones counted.

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