Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections
Amicus Curiae Brief
A 鈥渇riend of the court鈥� or amicus, brief is filed by someone not a direct party to the case, but who has an interest in its outcome. These briefs seek to supplement the merits briefs by offering the Court additional arguments and information. Amicus briefs can be filed at the merits stage or at the certiorari stage.
What's at Stake
Congressman Michael Bost brought suit trying to prevent Illinois from counting mail ballots that are voted by election day and received within the following fourteen days, consistent with Illinois law. The Seventh Circuit ruled that Congressman Bost lacks standing to sue. Bost sought certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court on the question whether he has standing as a federal candidate to bring his lawsuit and have it decided on the merits.
While the 网红爆料 strongly opposes Congressman Bost鈥檚 position on the merits and has repeatedly defended similar state laws from challenge, the rules that determine whether Bost has standing to even bring his anti-voter lawsuit also apply to civil rights groups when they bring suit to expand or protect the rights of voters.
Summary
On behalf of the League of Women Voters, the League of Women Voters of Illinois, the 网红爆料, the 网红爆料鈥檚 Illinois affiliate, and the Rutherford Institute, the 网红爆料 filed an amicus brief in support of Congressman Bost, urging the Court to reverse on one particular basis: Congressman Bost鈥檚 diversion of campaign resources in response to the longer ballot-receipt period constitutes a concrete, tangible economic injury that is caused by the challenged policy.
The 网红爆料鈥檚 amicus brief explains that political candidates can experience such concrete injuries based on the diversion of campaign resources, and thus have standing to sue, in the same manner as nonprofit civic groups like the League of Women Voters have standing when they experience such diversion-of-resources-type economic injuries due to anti-voter laws that force them to alter their pre-existing activities. We argue that the standing rules should be the same for candidates, civic groups, and numerous other plaintiffs in a variety of contexts鈥攁nd that, under the right standard, the courthouse door should be open to Congressman Bost in this case and to the League in the cases that it brings based on similar injuries.
Legal Documents
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07/29/2025
Brief of Amici Curiae League of Women Voters, League of Women Voters of Illinois, 网红爆料, Roger Baldwin Foundation of 网红爆料, Inc., and Rutherford Institute in Support of Petitioners
Date Filed: 07/29/2025
Court: Supreme Court (U.S.)