Judge won't hear Illinois lawsuit over tens of thousands of mail-in ballots until early December

An Illinois judge has punted to December a potentially major lawsuit that could have invalidated "tens of thousands" of ballots in the 2022 midterm elections, according to media reports. 

U.S. District Judge John Kness on Monday "set Dec. 5 for oral arguments" for a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging "the validity of mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day but received by election authorities within two weeks afterward," the Chicago Tribune reported on Tuesday. 

That lawsuit, the Tribune reported late last month, could potentially invalidated "tens of thousands" of mail-in ballots for the midterm election, though it's unclear what the status of those ballots would be if the lawsuit—brought by Illinois Rep. Mike Bost—is ultimately successful. 

Illinois law allows for mail-in ballots to be counted for up to two weeks after Election Day so long as they are postmarked by Election Day itself. 

Bost's lawsuit argues that the rule violates federal law establishing federal elections as taking place on explicit days, specifically the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in even-numbered years.