Supreme Court rules Illinois GOP rep can challenge state mail-in ballot rules in case with 2028 election implications

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Rep. Mike Bost’s lawsuit challenging his home state of Illinois’ mail-in ballot policy to move forward, issuing an opinion that could have major implications for future elections.

In a 7–2 decision, the high court determined that Bost (R-Ill.) and the others who joined his suit have standing to sue despite lower courts concluding that they hadn’t provided evidence of harm.

“Candidates have a concrete and particularized interest in the rules that govern the counting of votes in their elections, regardless of whether those rules harm their electoral prospects or increase the cost of their campaigns,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.

“Their interest extends to the integrity of the election—and the democratic process by which they earn or lose the support of the people they seek to represent.”

Roberts was joined by conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. The sixth conservative Justice, Amy Coney Barrett, filed a concurring opinion backed by liberal Justice Elena Kagan.

Liberal Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote a dissent backed by Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Bost and his fellow plaintiffs are challenging Illinois law allowing mail-in ballots postmarked before Election Day to be counted up to two weeks after polls close.