Colorado voters seeking to keep Trump off ballot urge Supreme Court to decide his eligibility for office

Washington — A group of Colorado voters who are seeking to keep former President Donald Trump off the state's Republican primary ballot have called for the Supreme Court to step in and decide whether he is constitutionally eligible for the presidency.

In a filing with the justices Tuesday, lawyers for the four Republican and two unaffiliated voters said the case before the nation's highest court is of the "utmost importance." They said the issue warrants quick action so the question of whether Trump is disqualified under a 155-year-old constitutional provision is decided when they cast their primary ballots.

The voters urged the Supreme Court to take up an appeal from the Colorado Republican Party, but asked the justices to decide only whether the Constitution's so-called insurrection clause covers former presidents and whether states have the authority to enforce the provision absent federal legislation.

"This court's settled precedent holds that the Constitution provides no right to confuse voters and clutter the ballot with candidates who are not eligible to hold the office they seek," they argued.

Colorado Republicans' appeal

The Colorado GOP asked the Supreme Court last week to review the Dec. 19 ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court, which divided 4-3 in finding that Trump is disqualified from holding public office due to his conduct surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

The state's high court put its decision on hold until Jan. 4 to allow Trump or the Colorado GOP to seek review from the Supreme Court. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold confirmed last week that the state Republican Party's appeal means that Trump will be listed as a candidate on the state's primary ballot unless the justices decline to hear the case or uphold the lower court's ruling.

The landmark decision from the Colorado Supreme Court marked the first time a presidential candidate has been deemed ineligible for the White House under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The state court is the only so far to bar Trump from appearing on the presidential primary ballot, though legal challenges to his candidacy have been brought in more than two dozen states. 

Trump harshly criticized the Colorado court's ruling, saying last week that "the Colorado people have embarrassed our nation with what they did." He has denied any wrongdoing.

On Thursday, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, found that Trump is disqualified from holding office again because of his actions related to the Jan. 6 riot. Bellows is the first state election official to find Trump should be removed from the primary ballot, though she suspended the effect of her decision to allow the former president to appeal in state court.

In the filing to the Supreme Court, the six voters said though the decision from the Colorado court was "correct," the case raises an important question of federal law that should be settled by the nation's highest court.

"Whether the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a former President (and current presidential primary front-runner) who engaged in insurrection against the Constitution from holding office again is a question of paramount national importance. Because 2024 presidential primary elections are imminent, there is no time or need to let these issues percolate further," they argued. 

The Coloradans said that if the Supreme Court does not step in now, there is a risk that millions of voters will cast their ballots for Trump in states where his name is listed on the primary ballot, only to later learn he is disqualified.

They reiterated their request that the justices announce whether to intervene by Friday and, if they agree to hear the case, issue their ruling on the merits by Feb. 11. Colorado's Republican primary is scheduled for March 5. 

In a separate filing, Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser urged the court to speed up its consideration of the case "given the significance of the issues presented and Colorado's impending election deadlines." He said Griswold, like the group of Colorado voters, supports the Supreme Court addressing the scope of Section 3 and whether it applies to former presidents, as well as whether states have the authority to enforce the measure.

"[E]xpedited resolution of this case will ensure that Colorado voters cast ballots in the presidential primary election knowing whether Trump is qualified to serve as president," Weiser wrote. "Providing this certainty is important both for the candidates in Colorado's Republican primary and, most importantly, for the millions of Republican and unaffiliated voters in Colorado who will be casting ballots in that election."