# Cost of challenges

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-challenges/929577
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [January 3, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-challenges/929577 "2021-01-03T15:32:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Keith1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Keith1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith1)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-challenges/929577/1 "2021-01-03T15:32:57Z")

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How much money, not to mention wasted court time, people’s time & so on, would these election challenges be costing the taxpayer? I’ve no idea but it must be plenty and more productively spent on things like health care or education I would think.

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### Author: ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-challenges/929577/2 "2021-01-03T15:39:55Z")

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Shhh, we can’t talk about the deficit until the 20th of January. Then wasting money will be the number one issue with the new administration.

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### Author: ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-challenges/929577/3 "2021-01-03T15:59:06Z")

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Well, I supposed you could look at the “billable hours” of the judges, bailiffs, court clerks, government attorneys, and so forth, but those sorts of calculations generally strike me as disingenuous. I mean, those folks would all be paid for the day anyway, even if they weren’t filing or dealing with silly court cases.

I Am Not A Lawyer, but I doubt _any_ money has actually gone to dealing with these challenges that might have gone to health care or education.

Now, there is an opportunity cost. How many hours did the Texas AG’s office spend on their silly suit that could have been spent on other issues before them?

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### Author: ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-challenges/929577/4 "2021-01-03T19:33:04Z")

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As far as money, I’d guess it’s barely a blip compared to at least federal programs. Maybe it has some noticeable impact in some states/counties.

Wasting court time with bullshit is definitely a huge problem.