Overview

• Illinois counts mail ballots postmarked by Election Day if received up to 14 days later, a policy Rep. Mike Bost and two presidential electors challenged in 2022 as conflicting with federal Election Day statutes and causing a campaign “pocketbook” injury.
• A federal district court dismissed the case for lack of standing and a divided Seventh Circuit affirmed, and the Supreme Court granted review limited to the threshold standing question.
• The U.S. government, in an amicus brief by the solicitor general, supports only narrow candidate standing when a challenged rule poses a risk of affecting an election’s outcome.
• The ACLU and League of Women Voters filed briefs supporting access to court on a diversion‑of‑resources theory even as they oppose Bost’s position on the merits of Illinois’ deadline.
• A decision recognizing standing could spur challenges to similar late‑ballot policies in multiple states, including a pending Mississippi dispute, while Illinois argues Bost’s alleged harms are speculative and any added costs are voluntary.