Reuters: If U.S. election winds up in Supreme Court, Ginsburg’s death will loom large

(Reuters) – The death of liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday could spell bad news for Democrats if a legal battle over the results of the Nov. 3 presidential election reaches the high court, as it did in 2000.

If President Donald Trump, a Republican, is able to install a conservative replacement in time, the new justice could help resolve any dispute in favor of the president – an outcome that would deepen the country’s partisan divide and threaten the court’s reputation as an independent arbiter, some legal experts said. …

If a post-election case winds up before the Supreme Court and Ginsburg’s replacement is not yet in place, Democrats would likely aim to persuade Chief Justice John Roberts, who is seen as the court’s swing vote, to rule in their favor.

“I think just like everybody else in the country, Justice Roberts is really, really hoping the election isn’t close,” said Sylvia Albert, the director of voting and elections at the good government nonprofit Common Cause. “He does not want to touch this with a 10-foot pole.”