The New York State Board of Elections voted Tuesday to add former President Donald Trump to the state’s presidential primary ballot. Just two days later, the Supreme Court will hear a high-stakes challenge to the voting eligibility of the top Republican candidate.
Two Republican members of the election board, Anthony Casale and Peter Kosinski, say Trump, 77, should be disqualified for his role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. rejected the claim.
The bipartisan board has four members, but two Republicans have authority over the qualifications of Republican candidates.
Casale on Tuesday received a letter from a constituent arguing that the board should declare the former commander-in-chief ineligible, but that decision is limited by the candidate’s national profile and state rules regarding campaign finance. He said that it has been done.
“No matter what the critics say, our mandate extends to these two standards. We don’t feel we have the mandate to go beyond that,” Casale said after the meeting.
“They have to go to court for that. The Election Commission doesn’t do that.”
Meanwhile, Democratic state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal immediately challenged the Election Commission, citing the 14th Amendment’s post-enactment provision against public officials who are “involved in insurrection or insurrection.” and vowed to overturn the decision. war.
“The Board of Elections can still uphold the Constitution of the United States by upholding our objections and disqualifying Donald Trump from the presidential vote,” Hoylman-Segal said.
“As the Colorado Supreme Court has already rightly ruled, Donald Trump is guilty of engaging in and inciting a violent insurrection that sought to subvert the will of the American people while costing multiple lives. and is disqualified from holding any elected office in the United States,” the congressman continued.
“If the election commission fails to meet its obligations and deems Mr. Trump ineligible, we will see you in court.”
Hoylman-Segal and others previously sent a letter to the Empire State Board of Elections in December arguing that the former president should be barred from the state’s ballot because of his role in the insurrection.
Hoylman-Segal has hired two lawyers, Roger Bernstein and Jerry Goldfeder, to represent her and other anti-Trump protesters.
The Supreme Court will decide Thursday whether Trump can be removed from the state’s presidential vote after the state Supreme Court found that he violated the Constitution’s so-called “insurrection clause.”
