Colorado cannot ban Trump - rules the Supreme Court
5:03 AM EST, March 5, 2024
In the unprecedented ruling that is going to go down into the history books the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the State of Colorado cannot ban Dobald Trump from running in the presidential ballot. The case regards the 14th amendement.
The actions of Trump from 21st January cannot disqualify him from running in the presidential ballot in Colorado nor in any other state, says the Supreme Court in the instantly famous ruling.
In fact, what the case was about, was - can we call Donald Trump and 'insurrectionist', because if 'yes', according to the United States Constitution he cannot take part in the presidential elections. The Supreme Court has decided that in fact he cannot be called 'insurrectionist' hence he is allowed to take part in the elections.
The Supreme Court effectively overlawed the ruling of the Colorado's top court, the Supreme Court which last year ruled that in fact Donald Trump can be called an 'insurrectionist'.
In the official ruling published on the official website of the Supreme Court we can read a following introduction to the case:
A group of Colorado voters contends that Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits former President Donald J. Trump, who seeks the Presidential nomination of the Republican Party in this year’s election, from becoming President again. The Colorado Supreme Court agreed with that contention. It ordered the Colorado secretary of state to exclude the former President from the Republican primary ballot in the State and to disregard any write-in votes that Colorado voters might cast for him.
In the key section regarding the concept of the Supreme Court overuling the ruling of the State Supreme Court, the Supreme Court stated:
Our Constitution leaves some questions to the States while committing others to the Federal Government. Federalism principles embedded in that constitutional structure decide this case. States cannot use their control over the ballot to “undermine the National Government.”
The key facet is that the ruling regards not only the ruling in the Colorado state, but also possible cases that may arise in the different states in the future. The case is closed:
Today, the Court departs from that vital principle, deciding not just this case, but challenges that might arise in the future. In this case, the Court must decide whether Colorado may keep a Presidential candidate off the ballot on the ground that he is an oathbreaking insurrectionist and thus disqualified from holding federal office under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Allowing Colorado to do so would, we agree, create a chaotic state-by-state patchwork, at odds with our Nation’s federalism principles.
Sources: CNN; BBC News; supremecourt.gov
