Trump will remain on Colorado 2024 ballot unless SCOTUS rules otherwise, per the Colorado Secretary of State
Trump will remain on Colorado 2024 ballot unless SCOTUS rules otherwise, per the Colorado Secretary of State.
On Thursday, Colorado's secretary of state announced that former President Donald Trump will be included on the 2024 primary ballot for certification next week, as the state Republican Party appeals a recent court decision that had deemed him ineligible for office earlier this month.
"As the appeal is filed, Donald Trump will be listed as a candidate on Colorado's 2024 Presidential Primary Ballot during the certification on January 5, 2024, unless the US Supreme Court declines to hear the case or confirms the ruling of the Colorado Supreme Court," stated a press release from Jena Griswold's office.
On December 19, the Colorado Supreme Court voted 4-3 to disqualify the former president from receiving the Republican nomination, citing his unconstitutional participation in an "insurrection" against the US government on January 6, 2021. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment includes a clause preventing those who have taken an oath of office and engaged in insurrection from being elected again to govern.
Griswold emphasized, "Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and was disqualified under the Constitution from the Colorado Ballot. The Colorado Supreme Court got it right. This decision is now being appealed. I urge the US Supreme Court to act quickly given the upcoming presidential primary election."
On Wednesday, the Colorado Republican Party requested the Supreme Court to overturn the state's high court decision, arguing that the party has suffered irreparable harm due to the disqualification of the 77-year-old former president.
"The state has interfered in the primary election by unreasonably restricting the Party’s ability to select its candidates," states the petition from the Colorado GOP and the nonprofit American Center for Law and Justice. "As a natural and inevitable result, the state has interfered with the Party’s ability to place on the general election ballot the candidate of its choice. And it has done so based on a subjective claim of insurrection the state lacks any constitutional authority to make."
The Supreme Court has not yet made a decision on the ruling, and this decision needs to occur before the January 5 deadline for candidate names to be certified by both parties for the Colorado ballot.
It's worth noting that attorneys representing Trump have not yet appealed the Colorado ruling to the Supreme Court.