Trump Ballot Eligibility: A State-by-State Look at Divided Courts
The nation's courts remain divided over whether the insurrection clause in Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment can block former President Donald Trump from appearing on 2024 primary ballots while one case awaits certification by the U.S. Supreme Court.
February 07, 2024 at 02:00 PM
2 minute read
The nation's courts remain divided over whether the insurrection clause in Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment can block former President Donald Trump from appearing on 2024 primary ballots while one case awaits certification by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The most developed legal challenge to placing Trump on a primary ballot is a Colorado Supreme Court case. In a 4-3 decision, the court concluded that Trump would be banned from seeking office for engaging in insurrection for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Since that decision was issued, the Colorado Republican State Central Committee filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court on whether Section 3 disqualifies the former president from appearing on the primary ballot. The provision in question prohibits anyone who swore an oath to support the Constitution and then "engaged in insurrection" against it from holding office.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced last week that Trump's name is back on the ballot for that state's 2024 primary pending the outcome of the appeal. Griswold conditioned placing Trump on the ballot by stating that he will be included unless the Supreme Court declines to take the case or otherwise affirms the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling, according to a press release.
Last week, Maine became the second state to disqualify Trump's appearance on a primary ballot. In a ruling, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows found the former president's primary petition invalid under Section 3, as she concluded that it applies to candidates for president.
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