You could almost hear the national anthem playing in the background.

“This is about the most fundamental right of citizenship. The right to vote,” argued Vincent Gray‘s lawyer, Andrew Sandler, at a Superior Court emergency hearing. He went on to say the case he was arguing was about “due process” and “equal protection.” Sandler even quoted James Madison. Still, the motion the campaign filed, to force the Board of Elections and Ethics to extend voting hours today, was denied by Judge Joan Zeldon.

It didn’t look good for Gray’s side from the beginning. Zeldon seemed unlikely to buy the idea that she should be micro-managing the democratic process. “The court is going to be very cautious about using judicial powers to interfere with an election,” said Zeldon. But Sandler wasn’t discouraged. He even brought a witness to the stand, despite the fact that it was nearly 7:30 p.m., and the judge needed to make her decision before polls closed. The witness, who’d fielded voter complaints for the Gray campaign, claimed there were at least 115 grievances. When her testimony seemed to be running long, Zeldon interrupted. “She’s got five minutes. I have to make a decision before 8:00, and I will do that.”

The Gray campaign hoped to give voters more time to get to the polls after technical problems at several poll sites kept them from opening on time. Instead, polls closed on schedule.

Which means if you haven’t voted yet, you’re going to have to wait until November.