The Supreme Court recently held a session to determine whether former President Donald Trump can be excluded from the Colorado ballot due to his involvement in the attacks on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. As per the delinquency, the nine justices seemed to lean towards discouraging the State of Colorado from making such a decision. These judgments potentially influence the entire nation and create difficulties around judicial review, questioned the justices from all ideological backgrounds during a more than two-hour long oral debate. [SCOTUSblog]
The case revolves around Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was enacted following the Civil War and aims at disqualifying anyone who joins an ‘insurrection or rebellion’ against the U.S. government after having sworn to support the Constitution. A group of Colorado voters petitioned to disqualify Trump’s ballot under this section. However, the lower court ruled that the presidency doesn’t fall into the category of ‘office under the United States.’
The Colorado Supreme Court then ruled Trump ineligible for presidency under Section 3. It suspended its judgment to allow the Supreme Court to intervene. Trump’s lawyer argues that the state cannot use Section 3 to block Trump’s candidacy. He noted that even if a candidate openly admitted to being an insurrectionist, the state could not bar that candidate from the ballot.
One of the main arguments issued revolved around growing logistical problems if individual states have varying interpretations of Section 3. There were claims that in upholding the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling, the decision could open door to countless state court cases which could potentially result in just a few states determining the presidency.
In conclusion, ultimately, the Supreme Court leaned more towards overturning the Colorado Supreme Court decision. However, an official ruling has not yet been made. The ruling could significantly affect other states where Trump’s eligibility has been called into question.
The article was originally published at Howe on the Court.