This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Wednesday, November 4th, 2020.

I'm Caleb Brown.

It's all over, but the counting, despite what the President claimed early this morning, yet it appears as of this recording

very, very close. So what might the fight look like over the presidency if it ends up in court?

Cato's Ilia Shapiro comments.

I've seen a lot of the media reports

about President Trump in particular

making claims about Pennsylvania and other places

saying that if there's any problem there, if there's any issue with

ballots not being counted properly, they'll send in the lawyers and this was presented I think as at least by the media outlets as a threat.

And I thought, wait, don't they always send in the lawyers?

That's exactly it.

I mean, ever since at least 2000 with the Bush v Gore, the disputed Florida

account, there have been lawyers on standby, lawyers in war rooms, yes, send in the lawyers indeed.

And it looks like there are going to be a couple of states

that are close enough and that matter that the lawyers will be involved at least once recounts are done and things like that.

Not clear yet what kinds of arguments they're going to make.

But unless we go beyond what lawyers call the margin of litigation, then this might, this election might go past this week.

Now, late last night, the president said something to the effect of, we're going to the Supreme Court, like immediately taking it up to 11.

Is there any basis on which he would do that at this point? I mean, we're recording this late in the morning on Wednesday.

Well, you don't go straight to the Supreme Court, maybe ahead of the election to have an immediate ruling,

and that was attempted in various skirmishes, famously the Supreme Court generally left in place whatever orders state Supreme

...