Bost v. Illinois Bd. of Elections · ¶12

To start, candidates also have an interest in a fair process. Candidates are not common competitors in the economic marketplace. They seek to represent the people. And their interest in that prize cannot be severed from their interest in the electoral process—a process “of the most fundamental significance under our constitutional structure.” Il linois Bd. of Elections v. Socialist Workers Party, 440 U. S. 173, 184 (1979). Win or lose, candidates suffer when the process departs from the law. Thus, the long-shot and shoo- in alike would suffer harm if a State chose to conduct its election by, say, fipping a coin. The result of such an election would not refect the will of the people, and the candidates would lose the opportunity to compete for the people's support. So too, similar harms would result from less dramatic departures—for example, if a State decided to discard a random 10% of…

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