When I write my next edition of Presidential Elections and Other Cool Facts, I'm going to add a new chapter on "When Must All the Votes be Counted." Because this election year, that's certainly the question I get asked most often. So here goes a shot at explaining the basic Constitutional and statutory requirements, with allowance for some of the permutations this wild election might cause. Bottom line is there’s no Constitutional or legal reason why all of the votes must be

(Published in the Scranton Times-Tribune, Oct. 23, 2020) In my former professional life I sometimes had the privilege of meeting with visiting foreign judges to teach them about the U.S. judicial system. I remember speaking with a group of Russian judges and was asked “Do your judges use the military to enforce their orders?” “No,” I replied. “Do they have their own police force?” the Russians asked. “No,” I said again. “They can call on the U.S. Marshals Service, but they d