
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously for former President Donald Trump to be on the ballot. The justices agreed that only Congress can determine that a presidential candidate is ineligible. According to the ruling, states do not have the authority to remove candidates from a federal office ballot.
Democrats led the charge in three states to have Trump taken off of the ballot for the Republican primary. Citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump was ineligible to serve as President because he was involved in an insurrection on January 6, 2021. Trump has never been charged, indicted, or found guilty of an insurrection in a court of law. Four of the nine Colorado Supreme Court justices questioned if their ruling went too far and acknowledged that Trump was denied “due process” for the events of January 6th.
UNANIMOUS Supreme Court Puts Trump Back On The Ballot pic.twitter.com/jxL5WfBU4Q
— The Ben Shapiro Show (@BenShapiroShow) March 4, 2024
Citing the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause, Trump was removed from the primary ballot in Maine and Illinois. The Attorney General of Maine decided independently to remove Trump following the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision. An Illinois judge also decided to remove Trump, but the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling overrides these decisions.
The ruling was an unsigned per curiam opinion, meaning the decision was not authored by a specific justice, but was given by the court in one voice.
There were two concurrent opinions given. The three most liberal justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elana Kagan, and Ketanji Jackson⸺thought the court’s ruling went beyond what was needed in the case. Justice Amy Comey Barrett’s concurring opinion questioned whether Congress was the only means to enforce Section 3.
The 14th Amendment is considered one of the Reconstruction Amendments following the Civil War. To prevent Confederate leaders from serving in federal offices, it states that anyone who participated in a rebellion or insurrection can not serve as a Senator, Representative, elector of President and Vice President, or hold any U.S. office, whether civil or military. The 14th Amendment notably leaves out the positions of President and Vice President.
The case was given priority in the U.S. Supreme Court for the ruling to affect whether Trump is on the ballot for the Super Tuesday primary. Voters in all 15 Super Tuesday states may choose Donald Trump as their choice for the Republican Presidential nominee.