Former President Donald Trump has taken his fight to appear on the Colorado GOP primary ballot to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump’s legal team filed an appeal with the nation’s highest court, seeking to overturn a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court that removed his name from the ballot.
The Colorado Supreme Court, in a narrow 4-3 decision, had earlier ruled against Trump, citing his alleged role in inciting violence to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power on January 6, 2021. This ruling came after a lower court had initially allowed Trump to be listed as a presidential candidate on the ballot.
Trump’s lawyers, in their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, argued for the reversal of the Colorado court’s decision. They emphasized the need to restore voters’ rights to choose their preferred candidate. The appeal is based on several legal arguments, including questions about the applicability of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, known as the insurrection clause, to a former president. The legal team contends that individual states lack the authority to enforce this section and that doing so could lead to voter confusion.
This appeal follows a similar action by Trump in Maine, where he challenged the decision to remove him from the state’s Republican primary ballot, also citing his alleged involvement in the events of January 6. That case is now headed to Maine’s Supreme Court.
The controversy surrounding Trump’s eligibility to run for a second presidential term has led to challenges in several states over his efforts to overturn the results of President Biden’s 2020 presidential win.
The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to announce whether it will take up Trump’s case. Former Colorado state Rep. Dave Williams, now chair of the state Republican Party, described the situation as a “constitutional crisis.” He emphasized the urgency for the Supreme Court to intervene, warning that delays could lead other states to follow Colorado’s precedent, potentially undermining voters’ rights to select their preferred candidates.