This could send a signal that, Bush v Gore notwithstanding, the justices still consider that state election disputes are not a matter for the highest court in the land.

ECONOMIST: Curse of the hanging chads | The

And in 2000, in Bush v Gore, he voted to allow the election recount to continue while the majority ruled that it should end, and that George Bush should be president.

ECONOMIST: The Supreme Court

Bush v Gore: The Court Cases and the Commentary.

ECONOMIST: There is still much to learn from the dead heat of 2000

The five conservative justices who were in the majority in Bush v Gore might see it as a chance to rebuke the three judges from the Ninth Circuit, which is decidedly liberal and is said to have more of its rulings overturned than any other federal circuit.

ECONOMIST: Curse of the hanging chads | The