This Supreme Court syllabus and opinion from Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections addresses whether political candidates have Article III standing to challenge state election rules. The petitioners argued that Illinois’s policy of counting mail-in ballots received after election day violated federal law, but lower courts dismissed the case for lack of a specific injury. The Supreme Court reversed this decision, ruling that a candidate's personal stake in an election is inherently different from that of the general public. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Roberts established that candidates possess a particularized interest in the fairness and legality of the results, regardless of whether a rule change would definitively cause them to lose. The Court reasoned that forcing candidates to prove a substantial risk of defeat would improperly turn judges into political forecasters and delay essential legal resolutions. While a concurrence suggested standing should rest on financial costs like hiring poll watchers, the majority held that the integrity of the process itself constitutes a cognizable interest for those seeking office.