By a vote of 4-3, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump is not qualified for the ballot in the state and that his name will not appear on the primary ballot.
In this appeal from a district court proceeding under the Colorado Election Code, the supreme court considers whether former President Donald J. Trump may appear on the Colorado Republican presidential primary ballot in 2024. A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot. The court stays its ruling until January 4, 2024, subject to any further appellate proceedings.
Trump Is Disqualified In Colorado. What Happens Next?
The next stop for this matter is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will end up deciding whether or not Trump is qualified to be on the ballot, or the very possible outcome is that the Supreme Court could determine that the decision is not a federal issue, which would leave the matter of whether Trump if qualified to be on the ballot up to each state.
The worst-case scenario for Trump, besides the Supreme Court ruling against him, would be the court deciding that it has no role in the matter because United States presidential elections are 50 individual state elections that are run by each state.
This is a very bad ruling for Trump, as it is easy to see how, now that one state has disqualified him, others could follow suit.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
