In federal elections in Illinois, votes by mail are counted until 14 days after the polls close, so long as they are postmarked by election day. Democrats generally favor the rule because they believe that the majority of votes received after election day are for Democrats. Republicans generally oppose the rule for the same reason. In the case of Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections, to be argued on Oct. 8, the question is whether a candidate for Congress has standing – that is, a legal right to bring a lawsuit – to challenge the legality of that rule in federal court.
Congressman Michael Bost, a Republican now serving his sixth term in the 12th Congressional District in southern Illinois, sued in federal district court to block enforcement of the rule, arguing that it is superseded by federal election law. The district court dismissed his complaint for lack of standing, and a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit affirmed.
Plaintiffs in federal court who seek an injunction must demonstrate that they have standing to sue. If they lack standing, their lawsuit is not a “case or controversy” within the meaning of Article III of the Constitution, and the court therefore lacks jurisdiction to proceed – that is, it cannot hear the case. Justice Antonin Scalia’s pithy restatement of the law of standing was, “What’s it to you?” Mere concerned bystanders may not invoke the jurisdiction of a federal court….