“It’s really just making sure we have systems in place—which we do—to monitor what Republicans are doing everywhere,” said Dana Remus, a former Biden White House counsel who is leading the Harris legal operation. “As soon as they file a case, as soon as they start saying election results can’t be trusted, we are prepared to respond.” …

More than 400 lawyers have been writing thousands of pages of draft legal pleadings and memos that could be deployed quickly in fast-moving litigation. A larger network of about 10,000 lawyers is on tap to be on the ground and supporting voter protection at polling places across the U.S. Senior advisers have held weekly brainstorming sessions that in effect work like legal game theory, with top lawyers sketching out strategies for addressing a host of hypothetical scenarios that could arise in legal combat over the election results.

The group has focused heavily on planning for potential delays or disruptions to the certification of vote totals, both at the county and state level, and in Congress. They say they are prepared to respond to any efforts to intimidate voters and election workers, including physical unrest on Election Day or during state vote counts afterward. …

There has been plenty of litigation already. Republicans, who also have mobilized thousands of lawyers, have been the driving force for much of it, filing or supporting lawsuits contesting a range of voting procedures. Claire Zunk, a Republican National Committee spokeswoman, said the party is involved in more than 130 lawsuits in 26 states to protect election integrity, including to ensure that voter rolls are accurate and ineligible people, including noncitizens, don’t vote. …

Democrats, who have intervened in court to help defend against GOP legal claims, say their opponents are inventing problems that don’t exist to serve their political narrative. …

While Democrats have largely portrayed their legal strategy as a defensive one against Republican aggression, they also have gone on offense, most notably in Georgia, where they challenged new rules from the pro-Trump State Election Board that could have given that body more power. A judge recently halted those rules from taking effect.

Still, the most intense legal period likely hasn’t begun, and the weeks after Nov. 5 will be a sprint for election lawyers. Deadlines to count ballots and certify results at the local and state level start looming immediately after Election Day. In 15 states, election officials at the county level must finish counting within one week, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. …

Election-law veterans said it is unlikely that litigation will determine the outcome of the presidential race and other contests, but said lawyering nevertheless can play an important role. …

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(Excerpt from The Wall Street Journal. Photo Credit: August de Richelieu/Pexels)