SCOTUS ruling could spur more election law challenges
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The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to allow political candidates to sue over mail-in ballots could open the door to more lawsuits challenging election outcomes.
Driving the news: The court ruled last week that U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) has legal standing to challenge an Illinois law that allows ballots to be counted up to two weeks after election day, overturning lower courts' decisions.
Catch up quick: Bost and two other plaintiffs sued the Illinois Board of Elections in 2022 in Illinois' Northern District, alleging Illinois law is a violation of federal law, which designates the first Tuesday in November as the only election day.
- The lawsuit argues that the ruling "dilute[s] the value of timely ballots cast and received on or before Election Day" … "forcing Plaintiffs to spend money, devote time, and otherwise injuriously rely on unlawful provisions of state law in organizing, funding, and running their campaigns."
- The federal court and 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Bost lacked standing to sue because he did not prove the Illinois election law created "concrete and particularized injury in fact" to the congressman and his co-plaintiffs.
Between the lines: The SCOTUS ruling doesn't say Illinois' mail-in ballots law is illegal, just that Bost can continue to litigate it.
- "This is a critically important step forward in the fight for election integrity and fair elections," Bost tells Axios in a statement. "I look forward to continuing to pursue this case as we navigate the next stages of the legal process. It's vitally important that we restore the people's trust in our elections."
Reality check: Mail-in ballots did not affect the southern Illinois Republican who defeated his Democratic opponent with 75% of the vote in 2022.
What they're saying: "There are concerns that this opens the door for more silly challenges by candidates to all kinds of election rules, which we know are fodder for all kinds of conspiracy thinking in our current political environment," Northwestern law professor Michael Kang tells Axios.
- "Before Bost, a candidate challenge would need to show that the election rule was not only unfair but basically changed the outcome of the election, or something close."
The other side: Illinois Board of Elections spokesperson Matt Dietrich tells Axios the board does not comment on pending litigation.