The Colorado Republican Party has appealed to the US Supreme Court, seeking to overturn a state Supreme Court ruling that disqualified Donald Trump from Colorado’s 2024 ballot. The state GOP, a party in the case, is striving to retain its right to include Trump in its March primary ballot.
Trump’s appeal is anticipated shortly. This appeal will indefinitely extend the state court’s pause on the ruling, initially set to expire on January 4, until the US Supreme Court decides whether to take up the appeal and, if so, until it delivers a final decision.
High Court Appeal
The Colorado judge overseeing the trial permitted the state GOP’s intervention in the case shortly after the lawsuit’s filing. On Wednesday, the party petitioned the US Supreme Court to restore Trump’s name on the Colorado primary ballot.
The party’s lawyers argued that the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to exclude Trump from the ballot disregarded the First Amendment right of political parties to select their candidates and usurped the people’s rights to elect their officials.
Furthermore, the Colorado GOP claimed that the state Supreme Court wrongly expanded the Constitution’s “insurrectionist ban” to include presidents, an office not explicitly mentioned in the provision. They also asserted that only Congress, not courts or state election officials, can enforce the ban.
Deadlines Approaching
The petition was filed shortly after the Michigan Supreme Court dismissed a similar 14th Amendment lawsuit, thereby keeping Trump on the ballot. This juxtaposition further elevates the significance of the Colorado appeal to the US Supreme Court, which is uniquely positioned to provide nationwide guidance on this novel constitutional matter.
Upcoming critical deadlines could affect the speed at which the justices act. Colorado election officials must certify the list of candidates for the GOP primary ballot by January 5. The primary itself is scheduled for March 5, Super Tuesday.
Colorado Supreme Court’s Decision
The Colorado Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision on December 19 declared Trump constitutionally ineligible to run in 2024, citing the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists holding public office as applicable to his conduct on January 6, 2021.
The justices also ruled that removing Trump from the ballot does not infringe on the Colorado GOP’s First Amendment right to political association. They stated that the Constitution, not any political party rule, is the supreme law of the land.
The Colorado lawsuit was filed by a group of Republican and independent voters, in coordination with a liberal government watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The state’s high court affirmed the district judge’s findings about January 6 and concluded that the ban does apply to Trump.
This story has been updated with additional information.