Colorado GOP Asks Supreme Court to Keep Trump on 2024 Ballot (2)

The Colorado Republican Party asked the US Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that would bar Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential ballot over his attempt to overturn the result of the last election, setting up a landmark showdown to determine his eligibility to return to office.

In a petition filed late Wednesday, the party asked the justices to review a Dec. 19 Colorado Supreme Court decision finding that Trump was ineligible for the presidency under a provision of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment barring from federal office those who’ve engaged in insurrection.

Trump, whose wide-ranging efforts to remain in the White House culminated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, is expected to file a similar petition in the coming days.

The Colorado Supreme Court was the first to rule that Trump’s conduct fell under the 14th Amendment. But the Colorado GOP said in its petition that state courts don’t have jurisdiction to decide if Trump engaged in insurrection and that the “unprecedented decision” could lead to “chaos” at the polls nationwide.

“For the first time in American history, a former president has been disqualified from the ballot, a political party has been denied the opportunity to put forward the presidential candidate of its choice, and the voters have been denied the ability to choose their chief executive through the electoral process,” the party said, adding that the ruling violates voters’ First Amendment rights.

Read More: Trump Eligibility Fight Takes Center Stage Before Key Primaries

The US Supreme Court will be in the forefront of the high-stakes national drama in the coming months over Trump, who nominated three of its nine justices. In addition to the Colorado case, the high court may ultimately have to resolve aspects of four pending criminal cases against the former president. The court on Dec. 22 declined to immediately consider whether he is immune from charges stemming from his effort to overturn his defeat at the polls.

Under the Supreme Court’s normal practices, it could be months before the justices say whether they will hear the appeal in the Colorado case, but the state party’s petition said it will seek an expedited review to avoid “an irreparable effect on the electoral process.”

The Colorado voters who challenged Trump’s eligibility — four Republicans and two independents — on Thursday filed their own motion seeking expedited Supreme Court review. They noted that Colorado and 15 other states and territories hold their primaries on “Super Tuesday,” March 5.

“This motion seeks to expedite the Court’s consideration of this petition and any petition filed by Trump, and any subsequent review on the merits, so that the important question of Trump’s eligibility can be resolved by this Court before most primary voters cast their ballots,” they said in the filing.

Trump has faced dozens of lawsuits across the country claiming he’s ineligible for another term. Most of those have been denied on procedural grounds. On Wednesday, the Michigan Supreme Court left Trump on the state Republican primary ballot, declining to accept an appeal of an earlier decision finding the amendment didn’t cover primary as opposed to presidential elections.

The Colorado Republican Party, represented by the American Center for Law and Justice, said the US Supreme Court must decide if the president falls within the list of officials subject to the disqualification provision under the 14th Amendment and whether states can carry out such removal without congressional authorization.

“This will not only distort the 2024 presidential election but will also mire courts henceforth in political controversies over nebulous accusations of insurrection,” the party said in its petition.

The Colorado Republicans claim the presidency is not a federal office covered by the 14th Amendment and that its enforcement, in any case, requires separate legislation from Washington.

The state supreme court, in its 4-3 decision, reached the opposite conclusion on both of those issues, and also found Trump engaged in “overt, voluntary and direct participation” in an insurrection that culminated with the Capitol riot.

The majority pointed to Trump’s claims for weeks leading up to the Capitol riot that the election was rigged, despite a lack of evidence in dozens of court cases challenging the result. They also pointed to Trump’s fiery Jan. 6 speech to a crowd that included armed people as well as his demands — even after rioters stormed the Capitol — that Vice President Mike Pence refuse to certify the results.

“President Trump fully intended to — and did — aid or further the insurrectionists’ common unlawful purpose of preventing the peaceful transfer of power in this country,” the Colorado court said. The seven-justice court is composed entirely of Democratic appointees.

The Colorado Supreme Court put its ruling on hold, and it won’t take effect until the US Supreme Court resolves the matter one way or another. Trump’s name remains on the state’s presidential primary ballot for now.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, the advocacy group representing voters who filed the lawsuit, didn’t immediately respond to a messages seeking comment on the petition.

The case is Colorado Republican State Central Committee v. Anderson, 23-696.

(Updates with plaintiffs filing motion to expedite Supreme Court review.)

To contact the reporters on this story:
Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net;
Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Anthony Lin at alin364@bloomberg.net

Sara Forden

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