The chaos unfolding in California's vote count is giving Westminster a fresh headache. Labour and Tory MPs are already sharpening their knives. The spectacle of a US state struggling to tally ballots days after polling day has emboldened the usual suspects to demand change here.
Cabinet sources tell me No.10 is nervous. They fear this could breathe new life into the perennial demand for electronic voting. A Downing Street insider muttered: "The optics are terrible. But we don't want a rushed reform."
Labour backbenchers are smelling blood. Clive Lewis has already tabled a question. His allies whisper he's gearing up for a full-scale assault. On the other side, Conservative MPs like Sir William Cash are circling. They see this as proof that the UK's system is sound. But that argument gets harder when the world's oldest democracy looks like a shambles.
Electoral Commission officials are privately alarmed. They fear a public confidence crisis. One source told me: "We're fielding calls from journalists who want to know if the same could happen here. The answer is complicated."
The real battle is over the Voting Bill. Ministers had hoped to push it through quietly. Now every clause will be scrutinised. Expect fireworks in committee next week.
Polling guru Sir John Curtice is watching closely. He warns: "The danger is that a foreign story becomes a stick to beat the government with. The opposition will link this to voter ID and postal vote scandals."
So far, No.10 is holding the line. But the mood is brittle. One veteran MP told me: "This is a gift for the usual suspects. They'll use it to demand a complete overhaul. And they'll have the public's attention."
Watch this space. The game is just beginning.
