Did you see that strange, unfamiliar light earlier this week? Just when we all thought Ohio's election debacle of 2004 was going to continue well into the next presidential campaign season, we saw a little bit of light appear at the end of the otherwise dim tunnel.

Wednesday, without much fuss and without much fanfare the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed a number of challenges seeking to overturn President George W. Bush's election-deciding win in Ohio.

The cases, brought by 37 voters within the state, are but a few of several options the anti-Bush populace still uses to desperately hold on to an increasingly slippery handful of hope.

Bush's inauguration is in less than a week and yet small groups are still holding out hope that some "miracle" might happen that would negate Bush's more than 100,000-vote margin of victory.

Such hopes are far-fetched, and for good reason.

No meaningful evidence - evidence of wrongdoing or mistakes that would cause a significant change the finally vote tally - has been found. Or, if it has been found, no one has widely publicized it.

With the dismissal of the voter challenges, only a second recount request by third parties remains as a potential grounds for overturning the election.

In addition, however, individual federal charges of voter rights violations are still pending in several appeals courts including charges of a lack of voter machines in minority precincts and cases questioning the inclusion or dismissal of provisional ballots. Both of these are serious charges and deserve an investigation. But hoping either of these alleged problems, even if proven to have merit, were widespread enough to change the election results is a bit of wishful thinking.

The cases involving provisional ballots, however, stand to change the future of elections, not just in Ohio, but potentially throughout other states as well.

The discrepancies and questions surrounding the use of provisional ballots illustrate the need for clarification and reform in the laws regarding their use.

We believe the courts will get to the bottom of these cases. The quicker they address the cases, the sooner that light ahead will grow.