United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 23-2644 MICHAEL J. BOST, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS and BERNADETTE MATTHEWS, in her capacity as the Executive Director of the Illinois State Board of Elections, Defendants-Appellees. ____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 1:22-cv-02754 — John F. Kness, Judge. ____________________

ARGUED MARCH 28, 2024 — DECIDED AUGUST 21, 2024 ____________________

Before BRENNAN, SCUDDER, and LEE, Circuit Judges. LEE, Circuit Judge. In Illinois, voters can cast their ballots by mail in any election. And election officials can receive and count these ballots for up to two weeks after the date of the election so long as the ballots are postmarked or certified by that date. Plaintiffs, comprised of Illinois voters and political candidates, challenged this procedure, arguing that it 2 No. 23-2644 impermissibly expands the time in which residents can vote. The district court dismissed their claims, ruling that Plaintiffs lacked standing to sue. The court also rejected the claims on the merits for good measure. Because Plaintiffs have not al- leged an adequate injury, we agree that they lack standing to bring this suit and affirm the district court’s dismissal of the case on jurisdictional grounds. I. Background A. Legal Background James Madison observed that the regulation of elections in the United States is “a task of peculiar delicacy” that requires involvement from both Congress and state legislatures. 5 Documentary History of the Constitution of the United States of America 441–43 (1905). The Elections Clause of the Constitution provides that “[t]he Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regula- tions.” U.S. Const. art. I, § 4, cl. 1. This clause is a “default provision,” meaning it “invests the States with the responsibility for the mechanics of con- gressional elections, but only so far as Congress declines to preempt state legislative choices.” Foster v. Love, 522 U.S. 67, 69 (1997). As long as a state’s election procedures do not con- flict with federal provisions, states “are given, and in fact ex- ercise a wide discretion in the formulation of a system for the choice by the people of representatives in Congress.” United States v. Classic, 313 U.S. 299, 311 (1941). Two federal statutes are relevant here. The first establishes the “day of the election” for selecting members of the House No. 23-2644 3 of Representatives as the “Tuesday next after the 1st Monday in November, in every even numbered year” (“Election Day”). 2 U.S.C. § 7. The second provides that electors of the President and Vice President are to “be appointed, in each State, on election day, in accordance with the laws of the State enacted prior to election day.” 3 U.S.C. § 1. Illinois has enacted a statutory scheme that governs its federal and state elections. See 10 ILCS 5/1-1 et seq. Relevant here, Illinois allows voters to cast their ballots by mail in any election held in the state if the ballot is postmarked on or be- fore the day of the election. Id. §§ 5/19-1; 5/19-8(c). If the mailed ballot bears no postmark, the voter must have signed and dated a certification accompanying the ballot within the same timeframe. Id. § 5/19-8(c). Moreover, any mail-in ballot that meets these requirements must be received by el