This was a big win for Republicans. But there’s still more work to be done! The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday morning that Republican Representative Mike Bost of Illinois has the legal right to sue the state over counting mail-in ballots after election day. The decision was made in a 7-2 majority. The Hill provided Justice Roberts’ majority opinion in the decision and what it means for Republicans in other states: The Supreme Court on Wednesday revived an Illinois Congress member’s lawsuit over a state mail-in ballot law, paving the way for political candidates nationwide to challenge election laws more easily in their states. The justices ruled 7-2 that Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) has the legal right to sue Illinois over its ability to count mail-in ballots received after Election Day, a practice targeted by President Trump and his allies. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion over the dissents of two of the court’s liberals: Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. “Candidates, in short, are not ‘mere bystanders’ in their own elections,” Roberts wrote. “They have an obvious personal stake in how the result is determined and regarded.” The legality of the Illinois mail-in ballot practice was not before the justices. But lower courts ruled Bost did not have standing to bring the case after finding the votes likely would not much impact his own race. Roberts said unlawful election rules can injure candidates in several ways, from lost elections and spent resources to decreased vote shares and damaged reputations. But candidates also have an interest in fair processes, he said. “Win or lose, candidates suffer when the process departs from the law,” the chief justice wrote. “Thus, the long-shot and shoo-in alike would suffer harm if a State chose to conduct its election by, say, flipping a coin.” When unlawful votes are counted or lawful ones are discarded, public confidence in elections erodes, Roberts continued. From there, diminished confidence in the elected representative follows, which amounts to a concrete harm, he said. Eric Daugherty reported that under current Illinois state law mail ballots can be counted up to two weeks after election day: BREAKING: In a HUGE win, the Supreme Court just ruled that Congressional candidates can legally challenge MAIL-IN VOTING LAWS – reviving a GOP challenge to the late-counting of mail-in ballots Illinois allows late mail-in ballots to be counted late, after election day for up… pic.twitter.com/cwHBuk0R3D — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 14, 2026 Full text: BREAKING: In a HUGE win, the Supreme Court just ruled that Congressional candidates can legally challenge MAIL-IN VOTING LAWS – reviving a GOP challenge to the late-counting of mail-in ballots Illinois allows late mail-in ballots to be counted late, after election day for up to 2 weeks SCOTUS has upheld Rep. Bost’s (R) standing to challenge this law in favor of a SINGLE election day AWESOME! These laws must be overturned. We have an election DAY. AP reported on Illinois’ argument in defense of the late counting of mail-in ballots: The state had argued that allowing the lawsuit would open the floodgates for more election litigation and “cause chaos” for election officials. Bost said vote-total considerations shouldn’t affect his ability to come to court. The Illinois law allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they are received up to two weeks later. More than a dozen states, as well as the District of Columbia, 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 weighed in to support Bost. The Republican president has asserted that late-arriving ballots and drawn-out electoral counts undermine confidence in elections.