Overview
- The Court reversed lower-court dismissals and returned Rep. Mike Bost’s 2022 suit to continue without deciding whether states may count ballots received after Election Day.
- Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that candidates have a concrete interest in the rules for counting votes in their own elections.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissented and warned the ruling could destabilize elections by encouraging more lawsuits.
- Justice Amy Coney Barrett concurred in the judgment, joined by Justice Elena Kagan, citing a traditional pocketbook injury from extended campaign costs rather than a special rule for candidates.
- Illinois counts ballots postmarked by Election Day for up to 14 days, and the Court is set to hear a separate case from Mississippi this term that could resolve the broader federal-law question.