The Supreme Court decided a presidential election 16 years ago based on how votes were counted. This year, a shorthanded court seeking to avoid the limelight may help decide who can vote in the first place.

Petitions challenging restrictions on voting in key states could reach the high court before Election Day, putting the justices exactly where they don’t want to be — at the fulcrum of American politics in what promises to be a wild race for the White House.

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“The groups are great at getting into court. But getting the things actually blocked is difficult.” says Pamela Karlan, a Stanford Law School professor and former top Justice Department civil rights official. “It takes a lot of money. It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of litigation to get to the same point.”