"The petition did present some potentially interesting and difficult federal questions involving federal statutes that most people were unfamiliar with," he said. "People might be a little surprised if the Supreme Court refused, without opinion, to do something. The court just doesn't do that," he added.

Heather K. Gerken, an assistant professor of law at HLS, said the issue was not just about the election.

"One way or another it will send a message to state courts--either one of support, or one of 'we've got our eye on you and don't go too far,'" she said.

The bigger question, said Gerken, is "what role will courts play in the political process?"

Gerken, a specialist in election law, said recent discussion about how elections are run is healthy.

"I think it's a good thing that we're thinking about electoral reform. The dirty secret of American politics is that for a long time we've run elections in an amateurish way. The processes being used are totally outdated," she said.

Gerken also said 3 U.S.C. 5 is not as clear-cut as it could be and could use clarification by the courts.

Arthur A. Baer, assistant director of HLS's Appleseed Electoral Reform Project, said that if the court determines that the Florida Supreme Court did in fact create new rules after the election, it will be up to Congress to figure out what will happen to Florida's votes.