2024 Election: Colorado Court Disqualifies Trump from Ballot

By Joseph Franklin

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Former President Donald Trump was ruled ineligible for the White House and removed from the state’s presidential primary ballot by the Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday, invoking the insurrection clause of the U.S. Constitution. This development likely precipitates a dispute in the nation’s highest court over whether the leading candidate for the Republican nomination can continue in the race.

The ruling from a court comprised entirely of justices appointed by Democratic legislatures signifies an unprecedented application of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to nullify the candidacy of a presidential candidate. In its 4-3 decision, the court stated, “A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

Colorado Supreme Court Rules: Trump Disqualified from 2024 Ballot

The Colorado Supreme Court reversed a district court judge’s decision that Trump instigated an uprising through his participation in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. However, the court stated that Trump could not be disqualified from the ballot due to the ambiguity surrounding whether the provision was intended to apply to the presidency.

The court suspended its ruling until January 4, or until the U.S. Supreme Court decides the case.

“We do not arrive at these conclusions hastily,” the majority of the court wrote. “We are cognizant of the scale and significance of the inquiries in front of us.” We are equally aware of our sacred responsibility to enforce the law impartially and without regard for public opinion and without allowing it to influence the decisions that the law requires us to arrive at.”

The attorneys for Trump had made a solemn commitment to promptly appeal any disqualification to the highest court of the nation, which possesses ultimate authority on constitutional issues. His campaign stated that a response to the ruling was in the works.

Trump lost the 2020 presidential election in Colorado by thirteen percentage points and did not require the state to win the following year. However, as Colorado has done, the former president faces the risk that additional election officials and tribunals will exclude him from must-win states.

According to Colorado officials, the matter must be resolved by January 5, the state’s deadline for printing its presidential primary ballots.

Nationally, dozens of lawsuits have been filed in an attempt to disqualify Trump under Section 3, which was enacted after the American Civil War to prevent former Confederates from reentering government. Since the ten years following the American Civil War, only a scattering of individuals who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution after taking an oath to “support” it has been barred from office under this provision.

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The initial case in which the plaintiffs achieved success was in Colorado. District Judge Sarah B. Wallace determined, following a week-long hearing in November, that Trump had, in fact, “engaged in insurrection” by instigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Her ruling, which maintained his candidacy, was comparatively technical.

Trump‘s legal representatives persuaded Wallace that the language in Section 3, which pertains to “officers of the United States” who solemnly pledge to “support” the Constitution, cannot be applied to the president. The president’s oath to “preserve, protect, and defend” the Constitution is not explicitly identified as an “officer of the United States” elsewhere in the document.

In addition to senators, representatives, senatorial and vice presidential electors, and all other offices “under the United States,” the provision does not specify which positions are encompassed, including the presidency.

In contrast, the highest court of the state sided with the attorneys for six unaffiliated and Republican voters in Colorado who argued that it was illogical for the framers of the amendment to prohibit former Confederates from holding high-level offices but not the highest one in the land, out of fear that they would return to power.

In early December arguments before the court, attorney Jason Murray stated, “You would be saying that a rebel who took up arms against the government could not be a county sheriff but could be the president.”

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Greetings, I'm Joseph Franklin, serving as the News Editor at megastarbio.com. I proudly hail from the United States. I hold a degree in journalism and mass communication from Arizona State University. Writing has always been a passion of mine, whether it's reading books, crafting poetry, or weaving stories. Beyond the written word, I'm an adventurous spirit who finds joy in exploring new places and seeking thrilling experiences. Thank you for visiting megastarbio.com, where I get to combine my love for writing and journalism. Feel free to connect with me, and let's journey into the world of captivating stories and news together!

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