by WorldTribune Staff, January 15, 2026 Real World News

In a significant blow to Democrats’ defense of the 2020 election, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Illinois Republican Rep. Mike Bost’s lawsuit challenging the state’s policy of counting late-arriving mail-in ballots to move forward.

In a 7–2 decision, the high court determined that Bost and two Illinois primary delegates for President Donald Trump who joined the lawsuit have standing to sue despite lower courts concluding that they hadn’t provided evidence of harm.

“By letting Bost’s suit move forward, the high court may be opening the floodgates for candidates across the country — and political spectrum — to fight election rules in the courts,” the Hill reported.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts noted:

“Candidates have a concrete and particularized interest in the rules that govern the counting of votes in their elections, regardless of whether those rules harm their electoral prospects or increase the cost of their campaigns.”

“Their interest extends to the integrity of the election — and the democratic process by which they earn or lose the support of the people they seek to represent.”

At least 17 states and territories including Washington, DC, permit mail-in ballots to be tabulated for a certain period of time after voting ends, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The following accept ballots that arrive late, as long as they have a valid postmark by Election Day

Alaska
California
District of Columbia
Illinois
Maryland
Massachusetts
Mississippi
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
Oregon
Texas (Must be received by 5:00 p.m. the day after Election Day)
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.

Judicial Watch originally filed suit challenging Illinois’ election law on behalf of Bost and the two presidential electors on May 25, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The lower court dismissed the claim for lack of standing, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the lower court ruling in August 2023.

“This is the most important Supreme Court election law ruling in a generation, said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton following the Wednesday ruling.

“Too many courts have denied candidates the standing to challenge unlawful election rules such as the outrageous ballots that arrive after Election Day,” he continued. “American citizens concerned about election integrity should celebrate this Supreme Court victory.”

Bost said: “I’m thankful the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled strongly in our favor and concluded we have standing to challenge Illinois’ unconstitutional law allowing vote-by-mail ballots to be counted two weeks after Election Day. This is a critically important step forward in the fight for election integrity and fair elections. I look forward to continuing to pursue this case as we navigate the next stages of the legal process. It’s vitally important that we restore the people’s trust in our elections.”

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  Supreme Court backs challenge to late-arriving mail-in ballot laws, WorldTribune.com