Margin of Litigation

[Baker, John]

        "Margin of litigation" is a phrase that we're likely to hear quite a bit over the next few days.  It refers to the amount by which a political candidate must win in order to prevent litigation over the result.  The earliest use I've seen, and possibly the origin of the term, is a column by John Fund in the Wall Street Journal on 11/6/2002:

        <<If the number of provisional ballots exceed the margin of victory in the Senate race, you can bet a lawyer will echo the Florida 2000 argument that "every vote must count," regardless of eligibility. In future, winners will have to hope their margins are beyond "the margin of litigation.">>

John Baker