Tell us: Should Donald Trump be on the ballot in 2024? – Boston.com
By Annie Jonas
Efforts to remove former president Donald Trump from the ballot over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol have kicked into high gear, with state Supreme Court decisions in Maine and Colorado barring him from their primary ballots.
The legal challenges to Trump’s ballot eligibility are based on a Civil War-era insurrection clause in the Constitution, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies government officials who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding office.
Specifically, the provision states that anyone who served as “an officer of the United States,” took an oath to support the Constitution, and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” shall not hold any government office.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows removed Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot under the provision last week, becoming the first elected official to take action unilaterally.
“I do not reach this conclusion lightly,” Bellows wrote in her decision. “I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”
The Trump campaign said it would appeal Bellows’ decision, and Bellows has suspended the effect of her decision until the Maine Superior Court rules on any appeal, or the time to appeal has expired.
Ultimately, it is likely that the Supreme Court will have the final say on whether Trump appears on the ballot in Maine and in many other states, such as Colorado, where the first ballot ineligibility ruling was declared.
On Dec. 19, the Colorado Supreme Court declared Trump ineligible for his bid for presidency under the insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot — the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate. The Colorado Republican Party countered the ruling by filing a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision.
Just over 30 states have filed lawsuits to bar Trump from the ballot, but many have been dismissed; there are pending lawsuits in 13 states as of Jan. 2, according to a database created by Lawfare, a non-profit multimedia publication covering legal and policy issues.
We want to know what you think about the recent court rulings and the Supreme Court’s say in the matter. Do you think Trump should be on the ballot? Should the Supreme Court weigh in on these decisions?
Tell us by filling out the form or e-mailing us at [email protected], and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article.
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