WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court's order blocking a transgender male from using the boys' restroom at his Virginia school underscores how the presidential election results will shape the high court.

One of the court's nine seats has been vacant since Justice Antonin Scalia died in February, and as many as three older justices could retire in the coming years.

The sometimes-polarized court won't ultimately decide what to do about the transgender bathroom case until around the election, and possibly months later. The justices probably will know by then whether the person picked to fill Scalia's seat will push the court to the left or to the right.

The transgender issue is just one of many high-profile issues on which the new ninth justice could hold the decisive vote.