Overview
- Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that candidates have a concrete, particularized interest in rules governing vote counting, reversing the 7th Circuit’s standing dismissal.
- Illinois counts ballots postmarked by Election Day if received within 14 days, a practice used in many jurisdictions that Bost argues conflicts with federal Election Day statutes.
- Justice Amy Coney Barrett concurred in the result, joined by Justice Elena Kagan, saying Bost can sue based on traditional pocketbook injury rather than a bespoke candidate-standing rule.
- Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor dissented, warning the ruling could open the floodgates to disruptive election litigation even when outcomes are unaffected.
- The Court did not reach the merits, and its separate case on Mississippi’s five-day deadline could determine whether federal law preempts post‑Election Day counting nationwide.