Former President Donald Trump is urging the US Supreme Court to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling that removed him from the state’s ballot.
Trump’s attorneys argue that he is not subject to the section in question and did not engage in insurrection.
Trump’s attorneys wrote, “The Court should reverse the Colorado decision because President Trump is not even subject to section 3, as the President is not an ‘officer of the United States’ under the Constitution. And even if President Trump were subject to section 3 he did not ‘engage in’ anything that qualifies as ‘insurrection.’”
They warned to expect “chaos and bedlam if other state courts and state officials follow Colorado’s lead and exclude the likely Republican presidential nominee from their ballots.”
The Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling has been on pause pending the US Supreme Court’s resolution of the case, and oral arguments are scheduled for February 8.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and other GOP lawmakers support Trump at the Supreme Court, arguing that the Colorado ruling intrudes on Congress’ power and could lead to partisan manipulation.
The lawmakers argued that a ruling against Trump “will only supercharge state officials to conjure bases for labeling political opponents as having engaged in insurrection.”
A group of GOP secretaries of state also urged the court to prevent fellow secretaries of state from disqualifying candidates, expressing concerns about potential abuses and lack of due process.
“Any other result leads to a foreseeable and unfortunate parade of horribles,” wrote the Secretaries of State.
The group argued, “If Secretaries of State—partisan elected officials—alone may determine who meets the obtuse provisions of Section Three, there are few obvious safeguards preventing abuse. A disqualification decision would presumably be unreviewable and made without any of the constitutional protections of due process that our system takes for granted in much less significant moments. If disqualification from receiving a social security check merits some constitutional protection, perhaps disqualification for a ballot likewise does.”
Trump has been removed from the ballot in Colorado and Maine, with both decisions on hold pending the US Supreme Court’s resolution.
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