Bost v. Illinois Bd. of Elections · ¶52

The Court similarly misrepresents the harm that occurs when unlawful election rules “erod[e] public confidence [in] the election results.” Ibid. To be sure, a tainted election can hurt a candidate if it undermines the public's perception of that offceholder's legitimacy and harms his reputation in the process (assuming he makes that allegation).But voters suffer too—and arguably even more so—when their fellow citizens lose confidence in the results of an election. Indeed, the same loss of faith the majority counts as injurious to candidates could be a fatal blow to the public's interest in democratic governance.

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