US election: Joe Biden lines up 4,000 lawyers in Florida amid vote recount fears
Democrats taking measures to avoid rerun of Bush v. Gore court dispute

Joe Biden has 4,000 lawyers standing by or already working in Florida in case Donald Trump calls for a vote recount in the so-called Sunshine State.
The Democratic presidential nominee and his party have been arranging “outsize financial and legal resources” to “either avert or prepare for” a recount, which would automatically be triggered if the final margin between the two contenders in the pivotal state is half a percentage point or less, New York Magazine reports.
As part of a push to secure a clear victory in Florida, Biden’s attorneys are examining ballot designs and monitoring officials who have been counting the state’s early votes, as well as keeping a close eye on canvassing boards.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“The Biden team clearly understands that in the Trump organisation, they’re not just going up against someone who challenges the rule of law but who does not believe in the rule of law,” Fernand Amandi, a veteran Florida pollster and strategist, told the mag.
Democrats are still haunted by the legal tussling between George W. Bush and Al Gore in Florida in 2000. The conflict ended with the Supreme Court handing the state and the presidency to Bush.
Fears have risen that tomorrow’s election could also descend into chaos after Trump reportedly told confidants that he plans to declare victory on Tuesday night if it looks like he’s “ahead”, Axois says.
The president has publicly vowed that his campaign would challenge either the results or post-election day vote-counting in several states.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Biden has a healthy national lead in the latest polls, but his advantage is narrower in key states that could decide who takes the White House.
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
August 23 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include deficit dimness, steamroller-in-chief, and more
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purge
Cartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?
In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Gavin Newsom's Trump-style trolling roils critics while thrilling fans
TALKING POINTS The California governor has turned his X account into a cutting parody of Trump's digital cadence, angering Fox News conservatives
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutional
Speed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Inflation derailed Biden. Is Trump next?
Today's Big Question 'Financial anxiety' rises among voters
-
Judges: Threatened for ruling against Trump
Feature Threats against federal judges across the U.S. have surged since Donald Trump took office
-
The census: Why Trump wants a new one
Feature Donald Trump is pushing for a 'Trumpified census' that excludes undocumented immigrants
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summit
Speed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'
-
Trump extends power with D.C. police takeover
Feature Donald Trump deploys 500 law enforcement officers and 800 National Guard members to fight crime in Washington, D.C.