It is no surprise to hear the name Donald Trump as a hot topic in the political circle once again. The 45th President of the United States is one of the most controversial political figures today, with most voters having strong feelings for him, either for or against.
Most recently, Trump has faced further issues in his running for the 2024 United States Presidential Election. Apart from his various criminal lawsuits, two states have shown efforts to remove him from their Primary ballots.
On December 19, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled to remove Donald Trump from their Primary Ballot. The court cited Section 3 of Amendment 14, which states, “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
The court claims that in 2021, on January 6th, Trump supported the storming of the Capitol, putting him in violation of the 14th Amendment. However, the justices allowed an exception. They stated that if Trump appealed to the US Supreme Court and they agreed to hear his case, he would be put back on the ballot. On January 5th, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, allowing Trump to be put back on the Primary Ballot for the time being, as the New York Times explained.
Following Colorado, on December 28th, Maine’s Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, removed Trump from the Primary Ballot for her state. Using the same reason as Colorado, Bellows states, “I am mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment,” She continues, “I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”
Despite Colorado and Maine being the only two states to disqualify Trump, 17 other states are in the process of challenging the issue, which is currently unresolved. Thirteen states have also already dismissed the challenge.
With this unprecedented decision being made nationwide, the question of whether Donald Trump is eligible for the Presidential election remains, with many states already disputing the topic.
