The American presidential election of 2000 raised fundamental questions not only about American democracy, but also about the nation's constitution and about the legitimate role of American courts, state and federal. This text presents a reaction to the legal aftermath of the election.

Acknowledgments Introduction Arthur J. Jacobson and Michel Rosenfeld Cast and Chronology Part 1. In the Heat of the Battle 1. Equal Protection for Votes Henry E. Brady 2. Law and Data: The Butterfly Ballot Episode Henry E. Brady, Michael C. Herron, Walter R. Mebane Jr., Jasjeet Singh Sekhon, Kenneth W. Shotts, and Jonathan Wand Part 2. The Machinery of Democracy in America 3. Disputing Elections Richard H. Pildes Part 3. The Decisions 4. A Badly Flawed Election Ronald Dworkin 5. Exchange between Ronald Dworkin and Charles Fried 6. Bush v. Gore: Three Strikes for the Constitution, the Court, and Democracy, but There Is Always Next Season Michel Rosenfeld 7. The Unbearable Rightness of Bush v. Gore Nelson Lund 8. The Ghostwriters Arthur J. Jacobson 9. Notes for the Unpublished Supplemental Separate Opinions in Bush v. Gore Burt Neuborne Part 4. American Perspectives 10. Anatomy of a Constitutional Coup Bruce Ackerman 11. The Many Faces of Bush v. Gore George P. Fletcher 12. Springtime for Rousseau Richard Brookhiser 13. Machiavelli in Robes? The Court in the Election Frank I. Michelman Part 5. Foreign Perspectives 14. A Flawed yet Resilient System: A View from Jerusalem Shlomo Avineri 15. Constitutional Council Review of Presidential Elections in France and a French Judicial Perspective on Bush v. Gore Noelle Lenoir 16. Seven Reasons Bush v. Gore Would Have Been Unlikely in Germany Dieter Grimm 17. Bush v. Gore: A View from Italy Pasquale Pasquino 18. Democracy in America: A European Perspective on the Millennial Election Mattias Kumm Part 6. Reform? 19. Weighing the Alternatives: Reform or Deform? Judith Best 20. The Electoral College: A Fatally Flawed Institution Lawrence D. Longley 21. The Electoral College: A Modest Contribution Keith E. Whittington 22. Popular Election of the President without a Constitutional Amendment Robert W. Bennett List of Contributors Index

"The Longest Night provides a comprehensive and insightful look at our country's most fascinating election. The contributions from political insiders are utterly absorbing. Sharply written and edited; an impressive collaboration."—Susan Estrich, author of Sex and Power"Arthur Jacobson and Michel Rosenfeld have provided a very important civic service. Their collection of commentaries on the disputed presidential election of 2000 brings all the confusion and frenzy of that event into clear intellectual focus. On one level it documents the most lively and informed reaction to the legal aftermath of the election. But it does more. It contains a range of erudite and well-reasoned interpretations, not just of the law and court decisions, but also of political institutions, the constitutional history, and the election itself."—Mary P Ryan, author of Civic Wars: Democracy and Public Life in the American City during the Nineteenth Century"The great strength of this book is its inclusion of international perspectives on the American presidential debacle of 2000. After reading the insights of commentators and scholars from France, Italy, Germany, and elsewhere, it becomes clear precisely why, like an aging Humpty-Dumpty, our patchwork set of elitist assumptions, idiosyncratic practices, and archaic democratic institutions came tumbling down in Florida. It is too late simply to put Humtpy-Dumpty back together again. The Longest Night reminds us that the United States has much to learn from those countries that are boldly advandcing the future of democracy and leaving us in their dust."—Lani Guinier, coauthor of The Miner's Canary: Enlisting Race, Resisting Power, Transforming Democracy

"The Longest Night provides a comprehensive and insightful look at our country's most fascinating election. The contributions from political insiders are utterly absorbing. Sharply written and edited; an impressive collaboration." - Susan Estrich, author of Sex and Power