Final answer:
The Supreme Court invoked the equal protection clause in Bush v. Gore (2000) to argue that the unequal treatment of votes in Florida violated the rights of voters to equal protection under the law.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Bush v. Gore (2000), the Supreme Court invoked the equal protection clause. The equal protection clause is part of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. In the context of the Bush v. Gore case, the Court used the equal protection clause to argue that the unequal treatment of votes in Florida violated the rights of voters to equal protection under the law.