On February 18, the U.S. Supreme Court conference considered whether to hear the case from Illinois on the special U.S. Senate election last year, to fill President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat. The 7th circuit ruled last year that the 17th Amendment required Illinois to hold a special election on November 2, 2010, to fill the last two months of that term. The special election was in addition to the election for the regular 6-year term for that same seat.

The case is really two cases. The state argues that it should not have been forced to hold that special election. And former U.S. Senator Roland Burris argues that, given that the election was being held, it was unconstitutional to limit access to the ballot in the special election, to only the candidates who were on the ballot for the 6-year term election. The cases are Burris v Judge, 10-367, and Quinn v Judge, 10-821. The state of Louisiana filed an amicus brief on the side of Illinois, and twelve other states joined the brief. That brief is neutral on the question of which candidates should have been allowed on the ballot.