The Colorado Supreme Court is removing former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot, saying he is ineligible to be president.
In a stunning and unprecedented decision, the Colorado Supreme Court removed former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot, ruling that he isn’t an eligible presidential candidate because of the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.”
“Even when the siege on the Capitol was fully underway, he continued to support it by repeatedly demanding that Vice President (Mike) Pence refuse to perform his constitutional duty and by calling Senators to persuade them to stop the counting of electoral votes.
“President Trump’s direct and express efforts, over several months, exhorting his supporters to march to the Capitol to prevent what he falsely characterized as an alleged fraud on the people of this country were indisputably overt and voluntary.”
Ratified after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment says officials who take an oath to support the Constitution are banned from future office if they “engaged in insurrection.” But the wording is vague, it doesn’t explicitly mention the presidency, and has only been applied twice since 1919.
We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Chief Justice Brian Boatright, one of the three dissenters on the seven-member court, wrote that he believes Colorado election law “was not enacted to decide whether a candidate engaged in insurrection,” and said he would have dismissed the challenge to Trump’s eligibility.
LINKS
AP: Colorado Supreme Court bans Trump from the state’s ballot under Constitution’s insurrection clause | @negativenull@startrek.website
Washington Post: Donald Trump is barred from Colorado’s 2024 primary ballot, the state Supreme Court rules | @silence7@slrpnk.net
CNBC: Colorado Supreme Court disqualifies Trump from 2024 ballot, pauses ruling to allow appeal | @return2ozma
NBC News: Colorado Supreme Court kicks Donald Trump off the state's 2024 ballot for violating the U.S. Constitution. | 18-24-61-B-17-17-4
CNN: Colorado Supreme Court removes Trump from 2024 ballot | A Phlaming Phoenix
CNN:Colorado Supreme Court removes Trump from 2024 ballot based on 14th Amendment’s ‘insurrectionist ban’ | @Boddhisatva
New York Times: Trump Is Disqualified From the 2024 Ballot, Colorado Supreme Court Rules | @silence7@slrpnk.net
An appeal of the CO ruling can (will) go to SCOTUS for the final determination. If SCOTUS agrees, that signals to other states that similar action can be taken without much risk (if any at all).
There's a few hurdles for each side. If/when this is appealed, the CO Court already agreed it would pause the ruling... Which more than likely allows him to appear on the primary ballot given the timing.
The CO ruling was a 4/3 split and the dissenting opinions provide a number of paths to how TFG's team can defend his case. Including whether or not if this is solely a state decision and "what" defines someone as being an insurrectionist.
This is extremely interesting because last I looked trump was polling significantly higher than any other republican candidate. If the timing lines up with a supreme Court ruling upholding this move and Trump is on the primary ballot but gets removed from the general you might end up with republicans in the state being unable to vote for a Republican candidate
Disqualification of Trump would put the next highest Republican on the ballot.
But only in states that make this ruling. The GOP would have a mess on its hands trying to run two Presidential candidates in different states. There would be major downballot implications in addition to Biden possibly being a shoe-in (depending on which states we're talking about).
It's a foul stew of their own making, and I don't pity them.
I'm ok with this.