U.S. SUPREME COURT BOOSTS RIGHT TO AN ACCURATE VOTE TALLY

On January 14, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Bost v Illinois State Board, 24-568.  It ruled that candidates have automatic standing to challenge election laws that, in the opinion of the candidate, result in slightly inaccurate vote totals.  It doesn’t matter if the perceived problem affects the determination of who had won the election or not.  Accuracy is intrinsically valuable and essential, for its own sake, even if it is obvious who won the election.

The vote was 7-2, with dissents from Justices Sotomayor and Jackson.

The case had been filed in 2024 by an Illinois Republican Congressmember Michael J. Bost.  He is noted for always winning overwhelmingly, sometimes with over 75%.  He complained about an Illinois law that says postal ballots are valid as long as they arrive within 14 days of the election.

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On January 13, the Wisconsin State Elections Commission removed a judicial candidate from the ballot because her statement of candidacy was notarized improperly. The candidate, Christine Hansen, had been thought to have a chance to win a State Appeals Court election. But her husband notarized her paperwork, which was improper. See this story.

On February 26, the United Kingdom held a special parliamentary election in the Gorton & Denton district, which is in Manchester. Previously, the Labour Party had won this district in every election starting in 1931. However, the Green Party won. Eleven candidates were on the ballot. The Green, Hannah Soencer, won with 41%. See this wikipedia article about the election. This was only the second special Parliamentary election in the United Kingdom since the general election of 2024.

The only other constituency in the United Kingdom that had ever elected someone who was solely a Green Party nominee had been Brighton. That district elected Caroline Lucas in 2010 and re-elected her in 2015, 2017, and 2019. She did not run for re-election in 2024.