Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections

Congressman Bost and two other candidates sued the Illinois State Board of Elections with the claim that ballots that were received after election day were still counted. The district court and Seventh Circuit both stated that they lacked standing to file the lawsuit as under Article III of the Constitution, plaintiffs must be personally affected by the case to sue.

The majority opinion of the Supreme Court was that Bost did have standing because as a candidate, he has personal involvement in the election. Not only does it cost him money and resources to extend campaigning and election monitoring, any threat to a fair election process jeopardizes his credibility as a representative of the people. On this ground, the Court ruled that he has standing to sue.

Link to full text: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-568_gfbh.pdf

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