With what is likely to be a razor-thin margin of victory in the presidential race, both Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are lawyering up in preparation for a recount.
Former White House official Bob Bauer is leading Obama's legal team, and Ben Ginsburg, a former attorney for the Republican National Committee, is a chief lawyer for Romney. Thousands of attorneys around the country are watching polls, ready to object to any voting irregularities and file emergency litigation if necessary.
The last major legal battle over the presidency was the 2000 race, settled by the US Supreme Court in favor of George W. Bush over Al Gore. Yet some legal skirmishes have already begun in the 2012 race. Earlier this week, Bauer questioned whether some Romney officials were planning to use info that could mislead or intimidate voters, a charge that state officials refuted.
The possibility of a recall could also lead to work for PR agencies, The Daily Beast surmises. “It's not just about the lawyers; there also needs to be a ‘public-relations element,' said veteran Republican operative Roger Stone in the article.
He added that campaign strategists need “to get the high ground as soon as you can: you won the election, and it's being stolen from you.” That, in his opinion, was one of the key weaknesses of the Gore campaign in 2000.