This event will be held in Hart Auditorium at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Is another Bush v. Gore possible? What if the U.S. Supreme Court held the fate of another presidential election in its hands? 

November 4, 2008; a blizzard hits Denver, Colorado; the resulting whiteout causes total city gridlock, impeding access to the polls. Denver’s Democratic election director and Democratic mayor announce a two-hour extension of polling hours. Because Colorado has become the deciding state in the Electoral College, Colorado’s Republican secretary of state asks the courts for an injunction against the extension, arguing that it has no basis in law and that it is unfair to extend polling hours only in Denver and not statewide. While the secretary of state’s urgent request is denied, ballots cast after 7:00 p.m. are designated as provisional and will not be opened until the matter is settled in court. If these ballots are counted, it is most likely that Barack Obama will win the election; if they are not counted, John McCain will be elected president. After several appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court hears the case of McCain v. Obama.

At this event, the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project, Ohio State University’s Election Law @ Moritz project, and Georgetown University Law Center’s Supreme Court Institute will jointly argue this hypothetical court case before a balanced panel of retired judges. Walter Dellinger, who has served as an acting solicitor general, and Glen Nager, who has argued many cases before the Supreme Court, will argue the case before retired judges David Levi, Thomas Phillips, and Patricia Wald. Audience questions and a general discussion will follow a thirty-minute presentation by each advocate. The judges will issue their opinion within ten days.