The Supreme Court on Wednesday revived a lawsuit brought by Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., ruling in a 7–2 decision that he has legal standing to challenge an Illinois law allowing mail-in ballots received after Election Day to be counted.
Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority opinion, joined by seven justices, with Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting.
“Candidates have a concrete and particularized interest in the rules that govern the counting of votes in their elections, regardless whether those rules harm their electoral prospects or increase the cost of their campaigns,” Roberts wrote.
Roberts also emphasized the importance of election integrity and public trust, writing that rules undermining the electoral process also undermine political legitimacy. “The counting of unlawful votes-or discarding of lawful ones-erodes public confidence in election results and the elected representative,” he wrote.
By allowing Bost’s case to proceed, the Court’s ruling may open the door for similar challenges. More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia permit mail-in ballots to be received after Election Day if postmarked or certified by the time polls close.
