Recently a 4-3 ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court has sent the news cycle into a tizzy.
The court ruled that former President Donald Trump name will be removed from the state’s 2024 ballot over the events of 1/6/2021.
“A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” the ruling said. “Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot,” the ruling said.
The ruling also said that the decision will be stayed until it is reviewed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Upon the news of the decision, the Colorado Republican party said that if the former President is removed from the ballot, the party is going to cancel the primary.
“First, Section 3 of the 14 Amendment applies only to individuals who were previously a ‘member of Congress,’ an ‘officer of the United States,’ or a state official. Individuals who are elected—such as the president and vice president—are not officers within the meaning of Section 3,” said former FEC Commissioner Hans von Spakovsky, election law expert. “Second, no federal court has convicted Trump of engaging in ‘insurrection or rebellion.’ In fact, the Senate acquitted Trump of that charge in his second impeachment.”
“Third, some scholars assert Section 3 doesn’t even exist anymore as a constitutional matter after the Amnesty Acts of 1872 and 1898–a matter completely ignored by the court today,” he continued. “Fourth, prior court rulings have held that Section 3 is not self-executing and Congress has never passed any federal law providing for enforcement, meaning that courts such as the Colorado Supreme Court have no legal authority to enforce Section 3.”
