Lockdown in Colorado
Trump goes to the Supreme Court over pre-election exclusion
January 4, 2024, 1:05 a.m
Did Donald Trump lose his chance to run for the White House again because of his role in the storming of the US Capitol? In several states, the Republicans’ top favorite has to worry about his participation in the primaries. He is now appealing to the Supreme Court over his disqualification in Colorado.
Former President Donald Trump has appealed to the US Supreme Court after being excluded from the Colorado state primary. His campaign team announced this. The move was expected after the Colorado Supreme Court barred Trump from the primary there on Dec. 19. On Tuesday it became known that Trump had appealed his exclusion from the primaries in Maine. However, the case will initially be heard at a lower court.
The primaries for the November presidential election begin on January 15th. In the USA, the primaries and the actual presidential election take place at the state level according to their respective laws and regulations. Therefore, they decide who is allowed to take part and how the voting takes place. Various plaintiffs in various US states have been trying to have Trump’s name removed from ballot papers for some time. Plaintiffs have already failed in Michigan and Minnesota.
Regulation leaves questions unanswered
In Colorado and Maine, however, Trump is accused of insurrection against the state under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in connection with the storming of the Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021. The paragraph states that no one may hold a higher office in the state who has previously taken part in an uprising against the state as a public official. Although some examples of such higher offices are given in the passage, the office of president is not explicitly mentioned.
Trump and his allies speak of a conspiracy to prevent him from returning to the White House. According to US media, Trump’s lawyers’ application to the Supreme Court argues that the Colorado Supreme Court has exceeded its authority – the question of a president’s fitness is a matter for the US Congress and not for state courts. The constitutional amendment, according to which people who have incited an “insurrection” against the constitution are excluded from elections, is also not applicable in the case of Trump.
It is unclear how the Supreme Court will assess the situation. The court is dominated by a conservative majority; three of the nine justices were appointed by Trump. In particular, it is unclear whether they are even addressing the question of whether Trump is guilty of insurrection. For example, the court could only decide that Section 3 does not apply to the President. Excluding Trump from the election would be tantamount to a political earthquake.