Trump appeals to Supreme Court over ban on participating in elections in Colorado
Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to grant him the opportunity to participate in primaries, seeking to overturn a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court that stated Trump does not have the right to seek the presidency again, reports The Washington Post.
Last week, Secretary of State Men announced that Trump would also be barred from participating in the state's primaries. Both states have temporarily delayed their decisions on excluding Trump from the ballots to allow for potential legal challenges.
Both states are scheduled to hold primaries on March 5, but ballots need to be printed well in advance of the voting. According to federal law, ballots for overseas voters must be mailed by January 20, and ballots for other voters should be available a few weeks before that.
Trump has argued that it is undemocratic for a court or a state official to prevent him from participating in elections.
The U.S. Supreme Court is not obligated to hear the case regarding the Colorado ban, but the justices are likely to intervene in such a crucial matter. Legal scholars are urging the court to act swiftly so that all states follow the same policy. Without a definitive decision from the highest court in the country, some states may allow Trump to participate in voting while others may prohibit him from doing so.
Trump may be prohibited from participating in the primaries for the U.S. presidential elections
On December 28, the head of the state of Maine's election commission, Shenna Bellows, excluded Trump from the ballot for the 2024 elections. The decision is based on the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits participation in elections for organizers and participants in insurrection, a term the court recognized the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.
On December 20, the Colorado Supreme Court also prohibited Trump from participating in the state's primaries under the 14th Amendment. Trump's team appealed this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. A hearing on the appeal is scheduled for January 4, 2024. The court's decision is likely to have implications nationwide.
Trump denies any wrongdoing related to the Capitol riot and considers the legal claims against him baseless.
