Just as I completed the last posting on disqualification, a lawsuit was filed by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) to disqualify Donald Trump from being on the ballot in Colorado. The lawsuit is filed against the Secretary of State of Colorado for accepting Donald Trump as a qualified candidate for the Colorado primary to be held on March 5, 2024.
In the prior posting, both conservative and liberal law professors have concluded that Donald Trump must be disqualified as a candidate because he “engaged in insurrection.” Other very well known law professors have concluded that Donald Trump is eligible to run for president.
The plaintiffs in this case are ordinary voters, who claim they have been harmed, along with the other voters in Colorado, because having an ineligible candidate on the ballot, will diminish the chances that other eligible candidates could win the primary.
Note at the bottom of this webpage, there is a link to the filed lawsuit.
I honestly don’t know if this lawsuit “has legs” meaning can it be accepted by the court as a valid legal challenge. Legal analysis by Northwest University Professor Steven Calabresi suggested that injury or harm could be claimed by one of the other Republican candidates running for president.
Another group called Free Speech for People are allied with Mi Familia Vota Educational Fund, has written letters to the secretaries of state of many states, urging them to invoke Section 3, and disqualify Trump from the ballot.
Professor Calabresi said those administrators must act. “Trump is ineligible to be on the ballot, and each of the 50 state secretaries of state has an obligation to print ballots without his name on them,” he said, adding that they may be sued for refusing to do so.
I would imagine if similar challenges succeeded in several states, the Supreme Court would accept to hear this issue. In this case, they may rule that he is eligible, given the Griffin precedent.
When Democrat secretaries of state disqualifies Donald Trump, making judgements on his actions and using their interpretation of Section 3 and case law, they are passing the will of the electorate in their state.
Professor McConnell writes: “We must not forget that we are talking about empowering partisan politicians such as state Secretaries of State to disqualify their political opponents from the ballot, depriving voters of the ability to elect candidates of their choice. If abused, this is profoundly anti-democratic.”
I agree, but would just say that this will be vehemently considered an abuse of voting rights by about half the country (Republicans), which the secretaries of state are sworn to uphold.
Stay tuned,
Dave
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I am more than willing to post comments by any visitor to my site on this issue. I note that several legal analysts feel that the Colorado lawsuit might go nowhere, because residents do not have “standing” to bring this lawsuit. But, if any secretary of state fails to put Trump’s name on the ballot, then the Republican party will demand immediate action by the courts, as they will claim his constitutional rights have been violated. Trump has yet to be convicted of committing any crime in connection to the January 6 violence. So, he is presumed innocent of all charges until there is a trial. I also note that a second lawsuit has been filed, by a tax attorney in Florida.
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