Former President Donald Trump can appear on the state’s 2024 election ballot, a Colorado judge ruled Friday evening, siding against plaintiffs who said the Constitution forbids those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.
Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace held that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment “did not intend to include the President as “an officer of the United States,” according to her 102-page ruling.
TRUMP’S BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT COULD ALSO FUEL HIS 2024 DEFEAT
“Pursuant to the above, the Court ORDERS the Secretary of State to place Donald J. Trump on the presidential primary ballot when it certifies the ballot on January 5, 2024,” Wallace wrote.
Similar lawsuits challenging Trump’s ballot eligibility under the 14th Amendment have been stalled recently in Minnesota, Michigan, and New Hampshire.
The Minnesota Supreme Court evaded the question of whether Section 3 applies to Trump, who is so far dominating the Republican presidential primary. It dismissed a lawsuit to toss him off that state’s primary ballot by saying that political parties can allow whomever they want to qualify for primaries, but left the open the door for a general election challenge if Trump becomes the GOP nominee.
A Michigan judge also dismissed another lawsuit seeking to bounce Trump from that state’s primary ballot with a more sweeping ruling. He said whether the provision applies to the former president is a “political question” to be settled by Congress, not judges. The liberal group that filed the Michigan case, Free Speech For People, said it plans to appeal the decision.
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A similar lawsuit in New Hampshire, filed by lesser-known Republican candidate John Anthony Casey, was dismissed last month.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
