Colorado secretary of state Jena Griswold filed a brief on Wednesday, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to keep former president Donald Trump off the state’s 2024 presidential-primary ballot because of his post-election actions that led to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
In December, the Colorado supreme court ruled that Trump should be barred from seeking a second term under Section 3 of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which forbids anyone who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from seeking public office. Griswold, a Democrat, argues Colorado made the right decision in excluding an “ineligible insurrectionist” from its ballots.
“While the facts and historical significance of this case are extraordinary, Colorado’s process for addressing Petitioner Trump’s qualifications was routine,” Griswold’s lawyers wrote. “Over the decades, Colorado has repeatedly relied on this state court procedure to resolve ballot access and other election disputes presenting novel and complex issues of both fact and law, including issues of constitutional magnitude.”
The state “should not be forced to include a candidate found by its courts to have violated his oath to support the Constitution by engaging in insurrection,” they said.
Griswold filed her brief a week ahead of the Supreme Court’s date for oral arguments, which are scheduled to be heard on February 8. Both Trump and the group of six Colorado voters who are challenging the former president’s ballot eligibility have already filed their briefs.
The latest brief comes after the Supreme Court took up the case earlier this month, prompting Griswold to add Trump’s name to Colorado’s certified ballot. “The United States Supreme Court has accepted the case, and Donald Trump will appear on the ballot as a result,” she said on January 5.
However, if the Supreme Court upholds Colorado’s ruling in the case, Trump could be removed and other states could quickly follow suit to kick Trump off their respective ballots. Maine is another state that disqualified Trump, although that decision has been appealed as well to Maine’s court system.
“This is an unprecedented case, but the law is clear,” Griswold posted on X, announcing she submitted her argument for the Court’s consideration. “I urge the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court to act with the urgency that this case demands, and treat Donald Trump as they would any other American — our laws should be applied equally.”