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Jan Baran, an election lawyer and former general counsel to the Republican National Committee, takes a more sanguine view. "Based on more than 200 years of history, the likelihood of a disputed result is 1 in 25," he says. Presidential elections are usually not that close, he notes, and even in states where the outcome is razor-thin, changing the result there may not alter the outcome of the overall election. Baran posits that this election has less potential for mayhem than we're expecting. "With all these lawyers and all this public attention and Florida fresh in their minds, everyone will be much more careful this time than four years ago," he says. But just in case he's wrong, lawyers are standing by. Lots of them. Reported by Rita Healy/ Denver, Laura A. Locke/San Francisco, Siobhan Morrissey and Tim Padgett/Miami, Viveca Novak/ Washington and David Thigpen/Chicago