Democratic-appointed justices on Colorado’s Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in December that former President Donald Trump, who staged an insurrection on January 6, is not eligible to be president and therefore should appear on the state’s ballot. The court ruled that it could not be done. In the months since, Maine and Illinois have similarly disqualified top Republican candidates, prompting Trump’s lawyers to appeal.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a timely decision
opinion “Because the Constitution places the responsibility on Congress, not the states, to enforce Article III on federal officials and candidates, we… is withdrawn.”
The decision is sure to impact efforts by activist groups in other states to disenfranchise other voters and spare President Joe Biden from facing his biggest rival in the upcoming election. .
simple background
Six petitioners backed by Democratic-leaning groups filed a lawsuit in September 2023 seeking to remove Trump from Colorado’s ballots. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed the lawsuit on behalf of Colorado voters.
crew,
partisan activist group It describes itself as a government watchdog agency; attack dog Ahead of the 2016 election, Media Matters founder David Block called for Democrats. The Colorado initiative was implemented under CREW’s current president, Noah Bookbinder, who was most recently a member of the Biden Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Advisory Council.
According to the petitioners, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment regarding insurrection applies to the president, in this case Trump, and the Republican Party’s actions on January 6, 2021 qualify.
A majority of state courts found that President Trump was “involved” in the insurrection, arguing that they “did not reach this conclusion lightly.” Article 3 shall apply to the office of President. And Trump’s Jan. 6 Ellipse speech was not protected by the First Amendment.
Blaze News previously reported that Trump’s lawyers, who appealed the ruling, argued:
- “Section 3 of the 14th Amendment only prohibits individuals from holding public office.”[.] … Congress can lift Article III disqualifications at any time, so they do not prevent someone from running for or being elected to public office. ”
- The Colorado Supreme Court violated the Electors Clause by “ignoring the statutes governing presidential elections.”
- Trump was not involved in the insurrection.
- Article 3 does not apply to the office of president.and
- Congress, not partisan state courts, is the appropriate institution to “resolve questions regarding the qualifications of presidential candidates.”
According to Monday’s opinion
per curiumthe U.S. Supreme Court apparently agrees with Trump’s legal team on this final bullet.
High Court puts a check on Colorado
The Supreme Court ruled that while the Constitution gives Congress the power to pass “appropriate laws” to “enforce” the Fourteenth Amendment, the states have no such power in the case of national elections. No, he pointed out.
“We conclude that the state may disqualify any person holding or seeking to hold state office,” the court said. “However, states do not have the constitutional authority to enforce Article III with respect to federal offices, especially the presidential office.”
“This is not surprising, given that the amendment’s substantive provisions ’embody significant limitations on state power,'” the high court continued. “Under the Amendment, the state may, without due process, abridge privileges or immunities, deprive life, liberty, or property, deny equal protection, or deny male residents the right to vote. …On the other hand, the Fourteenth Amendment: Gives Congress new powers to enforce the Amendment against the states.”
All nine members of the court agreed that the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision was “untenable.”
Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote, “The court resolved a politically charged issue during the volatile period of a presidential election. “All nine justices agree with this result.” That’s the message Americans should take home. ”
In a concurring opinion, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson argued that allowing Colorado to unilaterally exclude a presidential candidate is inappropriate for a candidate in a national election. “It would create a chaotic patchwork situation from state to state, which is inconsistent with our policy.” The principle of federalism in the country. ”
However, the liberal justices dissented from the majority’s pronouncement that “insurrection disqualification can only occur if Congress enacts certain types of laws pursuant to Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment.” He pointed out that by doing so, “the majority would shut down Congress.” Opens the door to other potential avenues of federal enforcement. ”
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