WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court said Friday it will decide if Donald Trump should be disqualified from 2024 ballots for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Colorado and Maine have disqualified the former president from their ballots under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Originally intended to bar Confederates from retaking office after the Civil War, Section 3 has been revived in the wake of the Capitol insurrection aimed at blocking the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Section 3 prevents individuals from holding office if they have previously rebelled while under oath. Colorado and Maine have concluded that Trump’s actions leading up to the Jan. 6 attack amount to engaging in an insurrection against the United States.
The justices were asked to decide if the office of the president is included on the list of officials subject to disqualification under Section 3 and if states are allowed to use the 14th Amendment to remove candidates from the ballot without congressional action. The high court was also asked to consider if removing Trump from the ballot violates the Republican Party’s First Amendment right to choose the candidate of its choice in elections.
Trump argues the Colorado high court erred in disqualifying him and that Section 3 does not apply to presidents because they take a different oath than other officers. He also contested the state court’s findings that he engaged in an insurrection, arguing Jan. 6 was not an insurrection and even if it was, he wasn’t involved in the riot.
Republican voters in Colorado sued the secretary of state to prevent Trump from appearing on the state’s primary ballot, citing his election interference efforts. After an expedited trial, Second Judicial District Judge Sarah Wallace found that Trump had incited an insurrection but did not rule he should be removed from Colorado’s ballot.
The Colorado Supreme Court stepped in and removed Trump using the 14th Amendment.
The Colorado Republican party — which intervened in the lawsuit along with Trump — asked the Supreme Court to review its state high court ruling removing Trump from the primary ballot. Jay Alan Sekulow, an attorney with the American Center for Law & Justice representing the party, said the state court’s ruling was unprecedented and unconstitutional.
“By excluding President Trump from the ballot, the Colorado Supreme Court engaged in an unprecedented disregard for the First Amendment right of political parties to select the candidates of their choice and a usurpation of the rights of the people to choose their elected officials,” Sekulow wrote in the party’s petition.
Sekulow urged the justices to review the case on an expedited basis, reviewing the matter before Super Tuesday. The high court ruling disqualifying Trump has been paused until Jan. 4. The state’s deadline to print its primary ballots is Jan. 5. The party’s appeal to the Supreme Court will allow that pause to remain in place until the justices decide what to do with the case.
The Republican voters trying to remove Trump from Colorado’s ballot agreed that the Supreme Court should take quick action to resolve pending questions on Trump’s disqualification, however, they urged the justices to take more extreme measures to resolve the case quickly.
Jason Murray, an attorney with Olson Grimsley representing the voters, said March 5 would be too late, suggesting the justices need to resolve the matter by Feb. 11. The voters’ timeline would have the justices deciding whether to hear the case by Jan. 5 with the potential to hear arguments on Jan. 19.
Trump’s petition hinted at an even quicker resolution to the matter, urging the justices to summarily reverse the state high court — a procedure that would not require oral arguments.
The court took up neither suggestion, agreeing to hear arguments on Feb. 8.
But on Friday, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in light of the high court's decision to take up the case, Trump's name will appear on the Colorado Primary ballot.
“Colorado’s 2024 presidential primary ballot is certified. The United States Supreme Court has accepted the case, and Donald Trump will appear on the ballot as a result," Griswold said in a statement.
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