{"id":2496376,"date":"2025-10-08T16:38:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T20:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/roberts-concerned-illinois-wants-to-limit-election-lawsuits-to-fraught-time\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T16:40:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T20:40:19","slug":"roberts-concerned-illinois-wants-to-limit-election-lawsuits-to-fraught-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/roberts-concerned-illinois-wants-to-limit-election-lawsuits-to-fraught-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Roberts concerned Illinois wants to limit election lawsuits to &#8216;fraught time&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Froberts-concerned-illinois-wants-to-limit-election-lawsuits-to-fraught-time%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2496376&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Teh article covers a Supreme Court oral argument concerning the case *Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections*. Chief Justice John Roberts expressed concern about Illinois&#8217; proposal to limit when political candidates can sue over election laws, specifically questioning the state&#8217;s argument that candidates must wait until harm from a law to their own election prospects is apparent before filing lawsuits. Roberts highlighted the challenge of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wapo-analyst-says-democrats-are-fooling-themselves-on-midterm-turnout\/\" title=\"WaPo Analyst Says Democrats Are Fooling Themselves on Midterm Turnout\">predicting election outcomes<\/a> beforehand and raised doubts about courts intervening at such a critical and contentious time close to elections.<\/p>\n<p>The justices debated the appropriate standard for legal standing in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-getting-worse-not-better-harmeet-dhillon-on-why-the-rnc-needs-an-overhaul\/\" title=\"\u2018It\u2019s Getting Worse, Not Better\u2019: ...eet Dhillon On Why The RNC Needs An Overhaul\">election-related cases<\/a>,with some worried about allowing lawsuits from candidates with little chance of winning,while others questioned the need for courts to predict election results to assess standing. Illinois&#8217; Solicitor General suggested using polling data or political advice to determine competitiveness, but Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch criticized relying on such uncertain methods. Conversely, some justices, including Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, questioned claims that a regulation harming a candidate&#8217;s margin but not the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >election outcome constitutes sufficient harm<\/a> for standing.<\/p>\n<p>Bost&#8217;s lawyer argued for a broad,simpler rule granting candidates standing to challenge election rules without needing complex predictions. The court is expected to issue a ruling before June 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The case involves an Illinois law allowing mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received up to 14 days after, which Bost claims violates the Constitution. The supreme court is also considering a related petition regarding Louisiana&#8217;s similar late ballot counting law in *Watson v. Republican National Committee*, perhaps influencing future rulings on election mail-in ballot regulations. <br \/> <!DOCTYPE html><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Justice Roberts raises concerns about limiting candidate lawsuits to &lsquo;fraught&rsquo; election time<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2365882\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Chief Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-roberts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">John Roberts<\/a> expressed concern during oral arguments on Wednesday that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/illinois\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Illinois<\/a> wants the high court to limit candidates&rsquo; ability to sue over election laws to the &ldquo;most fraught&rdquo; time of the campaign, questioning the state&rsquo;s argument that candidates must wait for evidence that a state law has harmed or will harm their election before filing a lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>Oral arguments before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Supreme Court<\/a> in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3831107\/supreme-court-gop-candidate-sue-illinois-mail-ballot-lawsuit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections<\/a><\/em>  grappled with when a political candidate has shown harm by a law sufficient to file a lawsuit. Justices expressed concerns over both sides&rsquo; arguments, ranging from the prospect that candidates with no chance of winning will be able to sue over any election law, to the concern of courts&rsquo; need to determine whether a candidate has a chance of winning before assessing whether they have standing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3842775\/supreme-court-split-over-mail-in-ballot-challenge\/\">U.S. Supreme Court appears split over mail-in ballot challenge<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3840707\/colorado-conversion-therapy-ban-skeptical-supreme-court\/\">Supreme Court skeptical of Colorado&#8217;s &#8216;conversion therapy&#8217; ban<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3839493\/colorado-conversion-therapy-case-to-test-free-speech-vs-lgbt-rights\/\">Colorado &#8216;conversion therapy&#8217; case to test free speech vs. LGBT rights<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Roberts questioned the state&rsquo;s assertion that a candidate must show harm from an election law that affected the results of his or her race&rsquo;s outcome, rather than Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL)&rsquo;s assertion that candidates, as objects of the election law, have standing to sue over the laws.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re saying, if the candidate&rsquo;s going to win by 65%, no standing. But, if the candidate, you know, hopes to win by a dozen votes &mdash; and there are places in the country where that happens over and over again &mdash; then he has standing. But we&rsquo;re not going to know that until we get very close to the election, right?&rdquo; Roberts questioned Illinois Solicitor General Jane Notz.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So it&rsquo;s going to be in the middle, the most fraught time for the court to get involved in electoral politics. That&rsquo;s when you say we should jump in?&rdquo; Roberts asked.<\/p>\n<p>Notz pushed back at the question by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-senate-judiciary-committee-confirms-amy-coney-barrett-for-supreme-court-democrats-boycott-committee-vote\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Senate Judiciary Committee Confirms Amy Coney Barrett for ... -- Democrats Boycott Committee Vote\">chief justice<\/a>, arguing that the high court could look at polling data or &ldquo;the expertise of a political advisor&rdquo; to evaluate the state of the race. Justice Brett Kavanaugh questioned the reliability of polling data or a campaign advisor to accurately predict how close or uncompetitive a race may be.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand a standing rule that therefore depends on prognostication,&rdquo; Kavanaugh said.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Neil Gorsuch also grilled Notz on whether it would be &ldquo;unseemly&rdquo; for courts to make predictions about a candidate&rsquo;s chances about winning an election, which &ldquo;itself might influence the election.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While Illinois&rsquo;s theory of a candidate&rsquo;s ability to show standing was questioned by many of the conservative justices, Bost&rsquo;s claims that a candidate has standing when the law will affect the final tally of the election, but may not affect the outcome of the race, faced scrutiny by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Harm is what you need in order to establish standing, not preference for 60% or 59% or whatever,&rdquo; Jackson said, questioning Bost&rsquo;s lawyer, Paul Clement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And so what I guess I&rsquo;m a little concerned about in your argument is the idea that a candidate who wins, and who wins by some margin, is harmed by a regulation of this nature because of the potential decrease in his margin of victory. I don&rsquo;t understand the harm that necessarily comes from that,&rdquo; she added.<\/p>\n<p>Clement pushed for the high court to recognize a broad rule for standing, arguing it would eliminate the need for a court to determine a complex formula to see a candidate&rsquo;s chances in an election before the race has been held.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think that is a pretty good advertisement for a broader, simpler rule that simply says candidates have standing to challenge the rules that govern the election,&rdquo; Clement told the justices.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court is expected to release its ruling in <em>Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections<\/em> before the end of June 2026.<\/p>\n<p>While the Supreme Court heard arguments only on whether Bost has standing to challenge an Illinois mail ballot law, the justices could eventually hear the merits of the case or a similar case in the near future. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2022, argues that Illinois&rsquo;s law allowing ballots postmarked by Election Day to be collected and counted up to 14 days after Election Day violates the Constitution.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3831107\/supreme-court-gop-candidate-sue-illinois-mail-ballot-lawsuit\/\">SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE IF GOP CANDIDATE CAN SUE OVER ILLINOIS MAIL-IN BALLOT LAW<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The justices are&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3468137\/election-security-groups-supreme-court-late-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">considering a petition<\/a>&nbsp;to hear the merits of a similar dispute over a Louisiana law. The Louisiana law allows mail-in ballots to be counted if they are received up to five business days after Election Day and have been postmarked by Election Day. <\/p>\n<p>The petition in&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/24\/24-1260\/362512\/20250606130022508_Watson%20v.%20RNC%20Petition%20and%20Appendix.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Watson v. Republican National Committee<\/a><\/em>&nbsp;asks the Supreme Court to consider striking down <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-weighs-if-gop-candidate-can-sue-over-mail-ballot-law\/\" title=\"... weighs if ... can ... over mail ...\">laws allowing ballots received<\/a> after Election Day to be counted. The justices are expected to rule on whether they will take up the petition for arguments as soon as in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roberts questions limiting candidate lawsuits to tense election period<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2496378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25267580485050.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[39492,6413,59659,11006],"class_list":["post-2496376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-election-lawsuits","tag-illinois","tag-legal-limits","tag-roberts"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25267580485050.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2496376"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2496380,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496376\/revisions\/2496380"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2496378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2496376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2496376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2496376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}