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The justices are considering the narrower issue of whether a GOP
congressman has the legal right, or standing, to challenge the
law that allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted
if they are received up to two weeks later.
Lower courts threw out the lawsuit from Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill.,
finding those votes likely had little effect on the race in his
safe GOP district.
Illinois asked the justices to uphold that ruling, with the
state's solicitor general arguing the case could open the
floodgates for more lawsuits and “cause chaos” for election
officials.
But the court seemed skeptical about the idea that a candidate’s
vote totals should affect their ability to come to court.
“Is there something unseemly about a federal court, in the
middle of an election, saying you don’t have standing because
you’re going to win or you do have standing because you might
lose?” said Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was
nominated by Trump.
Chief Justice John Roberts, meanwhile, referred to judges having
to make those determinations as a “potential disaster," and
Justice Elena Kagan, who was nominated by then-President Barack
Obama, also raised concerns about that kind of test.
The court is expected to rule by June.
Illinois is among 18 states and the District of Columbia that
accept mailed ballots received after Election Day as long they
are postmarked on or before that date, according to the National
Conference of State Legislatures.
The Trump administration also argued that Bost should be able to
sue. The Republican president has claimed that late-arriving
ballots and drawn-out electoral counts undermine confidence in
elections. In March he signed a sweeping executive order on
elections that aims to require votes to be “cast and received”
by Election Day, though it’s been challenged in court.
The Supreme Court could soon be weighing legal questions about
mail-in ballots more directly as Mississippi appeals a 2024
appeals court ruling that found counting ballots that arrive
shortly after Election Day violates federal law.
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