Patrick Morrisey and Todd Rokita, the Republican attorneys general, respectively, for West Virginia and Indiana, are leading an effort by 19 states to defend former President Donald Trump's right to appear on Colorado's ballot for the 2024 election.
The coalition filed an amicus brief Wednesday with the Colorado Supreme Court that asserts the Constitution gives Congress, not the courts, authority to decide who is eligible to run for federal office.
"We need to protect the integrity of our elections, and actions like this undermine the right of the citizens to choose who they want to represent them in every level of government," Morrisey said in a news release. "This is a very simple argument: Congress gets to decide on matters like this."
There has been an effort to kick Trump off the ballot in several states by using Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which disqualifies from public office anyone who took an oath of office "as a member of Congress or as an officer of the United States" who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same." The section was specifically designed for the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War.
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Nov. 8 blocked a similar attempt to keep Trump off that state's primary ballot but said the challengers can try again to keep him off the presidential ballot should he win the GOP nomination. A Michigan judge on Nov. 14 made a similar ruling to keep Trump on that state's primary ballot.
The Colorado Supreme Court agreed to take up an appeal after District Court Judge Sarah Wallace ruled earlier this month Trump was eligible because Section 3 did not apply to presidents, even though she said he engaged in an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump is appealing that portion of her ruling. The Colorado Supreme Court set Dec. 6 for the start of oral arguments.
"If any state prohibits a legitimate presidential candidate from appearing on their ballot, that action would serve to squelch the voices of voters from every other state who supported that candidate," Rokita said in a news release. "Hoosiers cannot tolerate such an assault on democracy and election integrity."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.