The Daily Signal By Tyler O’Neil
Two Democratic officials moved to boot former President Donald Trump off the ballot in their states Thursday, even as one of them acknowledged that voters would be able to select the 2024 Republican front-runner until further notice.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced that Trump would remain on the ballot until the U.S. Supreme Court decides on the case. The Colorado Supreme Court had ruled in favor of an effort to strike Trump from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but the Colorado Republican Party appealed the decision to the nation’s highest court.
“With the appeal filed, Donald Trump will be included as a candidate on Colorado’s 2024 presidential primary ballot when certification occurs on January 5, 2024, unless the U.S. Supreme Court declines to take the case or otherwise affirms the Colorado Supreme Court ruling,” Griswold’s office announced in a news release. The 2024 Colorado Republican presidential primary is set for “Super Tuesday,” March 5.
Yet the secretary of state urged the Supreme Court to uphold the Colorado court’s decision, insisting that Trump had “engaged in insurrection”—even though the Justice Department has never brought a charge of insurrection against the former president and Trump has never been convicted of such a charge.
“Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and was disqualified under the Constitution from the Colorado ballot,” Griswold said in a statement. “The Colorado Supreme Court got it right. This decision is now being appealed. I urge the U.S. Supreme Court to act quickly, given the upcoming presidential primary election.”
She laid out a timeline for the ballot process, noting that she must certify the names and party affiliations of candidates on the primary ballot by Jan. 5, the same day as a Supreme Court conference. Griswold must send ballots to military and overseas voters on Jan. 20, ahead of the Feb. 26 first day of in-person voting and the March 5 primary, when polls close at 7 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.
Meanwhile, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows also moved against Trump on Thursday, striking him from the ballot in the Pine Tree State. She also ruled that the former president was disqualified from appearing on the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, ruling that he “engaged in insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021.
“I am mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment,” she wrote in the ruling.
“The events of January 6, 2021, were unprecedented and tragic,” Bellows wrote. “They were an attack not only upon the Capitol and government officials, but also an attack on the rule of law. The evidence here demonstrates that they occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of, the outgoing president. The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government, and [Maine law] requires me to act in response.”
She ruled that the people challenging Trump’s ballot access “have met their burden” of proof and “provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate the falsity of Mr. Trump’s declaration that he meets the qualifications of the office of the presidency.”
Like Colorado, Maine is among 16 states holding presidential primaries on March 5…
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