Dozens of states have recently backed former President Donald Trump in challenging the Colorado ruling to bar him from the state’s Republican presidential ballot. Approximately 27 states have filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, stating keeping Trump off the ballot could lead to “chaos” in the 2024 election, having “vast consequences that reach far beyond Colorado.”
The Supreme Court is set to hear the arguments in early February while imposing a deadline on January 18 for similar briefs to be filed. Until a decision is made on the case, the justices of the nation’s highest court have ordered an administrative stay mandating the Colorado Secretary of State put Trump’s name on the GOP primary ballot.
“Voters who may wish to cast their ballots for former President Trump cannot know whether he ultimately will be excluded from the ballot in their State or others. They may wonder whether a little non-mutual offensive collateral estoppel is all it takes for former President Trump to be excluded from ballots across the Nation,” the states argue.
It is further asserted that the Colorado decision deeming Trump an insurrectionist is “standardless and vague” while denying the leading Republican primary candidate due process. “The Colorado Supreme Court has cast itself into a ‘political thicket,’ . . . and it is now up to this Court to pull it out,” they claim. Moreover, the states argue that if the Colorado decision is implemented, it could damage trust in the fabric of the nation’s political process. “Many Americans will become convinced that a few partisan actors have contrived to take a political decision out of ordinary voters’ hands,” they say.
The brief further calls on the Supreme Court to provide a swift and certain ruling to set a precedent and prevent confusion from spreading across voters. “Any damage may already have been done by the time another case raising similar issues makes its way back to this Court. And the longer litigation over a national candidate’s eligibility persists, the more uncertainty and confusion will spread.”
“Voters need an answer in time to judiciously weigh the merits of competing candidates before casting their ballots, not after voting has begun,” the states continue. “The Court should act now to stop all these ‘strange, far-reaching, and injurious results’ from spinning out of control,” they add.
Ultimately, the states assert that the decision of whether Trump is qualified for the presidency should lie in the hands of the voters. They state, “If the voters find former President Trump qualified, and Congress concurs, then the Constitution does not contemplate a time for the judiciary to second-guess that call. Rather, the Constitution gives Congress the sole and final authority to determine whether the President can continue to serve, as many courts have said.”
Colorado GOP lawyers have also weighed in on their state’s attempt to exclude Trump from the primary ballot, labeling it a violation of the First Amendment. “By excluding President Trump from the ballot, the Colorado Supreme Court engaged in an unprecedented disregard for the First Amendment right of political parties to select the candidates of their choice and a usurpation of the rights of the people to choose their elected officials,” they wrote.
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