A federal appeals court recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, which challenged Illinois’ policy of accepting mail-in ballots for two weeks after Election Day, claiming it violated federal law.
In a 2-1 ruling, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision, stating that Bost and the other plaintiffs lacked standing because they did not provide evidence of tangible harm caused by the law.
Illinois permits mail-in ballots to be counted up to 14 days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked by that day. Bost and the other plaintiffs contended that this policy would dilute their votes and compel candidates to extend campaign operations, leading to increased costs.
Judge John Lee, writing for the majority, noted that Bost’s arguments did not demonstrate that voters were harmed by the counting of ballots after Election Day. He stated, “Even if we were to accept Plaintiffs’ premise that inclusion of these ballots would cause vote dilution, their votes would be diluted in the same way that every other vote cast in Illinois prior to Election Day would be diluted.” Therefore, any injury claimed by the plaintiffs was generalized and not specific to them, as required by the Supreme Court.
U.S. District Judge John Kness had previously dismissed the case last year. Bost appealed, with the hearing occurring just nine days after the narrow primary victory he secured over challenger and former state Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia.
Judge Michael Scudder Jr. concurred that the votes would not be unfairly diluted but differed from the other judges regarding Bost’s standing, labeling him as an “active stakeholder” in the matter.
Comments