Trump asks Supreme Court to overturn Colorado ballot eligibility ruling
Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to overturn a Colorado court ruling that he is ineligible to appear on the state primary ballot because of his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to overturn a state court ruling in Colorado that said he is ineligible to appear on the state primary ballot because of his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The Colorado Republican Party had already filed its own appeal. Based on language in the state court ruling, Trump for now remains on the Colorado ballot until the Supreme Court acts.
The Colorado Supreme Court based its Dec. 19 ruling on language in the Constitution's 14th Amendment that prohibits those who "engaged in insurrection" from running for various federal offices. The case raises various novel legal questions, including whether the language applies to those running for president and who gets to decide whether someone engaged in insurrection.
If the ruling is allowed to stand, it would "mark the first time in the history of the United States that the judiciary has prevented voters from casting ballots for the leading major-party presidential candidate," Trump's lawyers said in the filing.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during the South Dakota Republican Party's Monumental Leaders rally in Rapid City on Sept. 8, 2023.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images fileThe court, the lawyers said, should "return the right to vote for their candidate of choice to the voters." Only Congress has the authority to decide who is eligible to serve as president, they added.
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