Supreme Court Restores Trump to Colorado Primary Ballot in Unanimous Ruling ahead of Super Tuesday

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday to overturn the Colorado supreme court decision removing Trump from the state primary ballot, just one day before voters in the Centennial State and 14 others go to the polls to select their Republican nominee.

The unanimous ruling holds that only Congress has the authority to restrict ballot access based on a candidate’s alleged violation of Section three of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits individuals who have engaged in an insurrection from holding federal office.

“This case raises the question whether the States, in addition to Congress, may also enforce Section 3. We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency,” the Supreme Court ruling asserts.

“For the reasons given, responsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the States. The judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court therefore cannot stand.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett issued a concurring opinion and called for the nation’s highest court to reduce political tensions instead of amplifying them.

“Particularly in this circumstance, writings on the Court should turn the national temperature down, not up. For present purposes, our differences are far less important than our unanimity: All nine Justices agree on the outcome of this case. That is the message Americans should take home,” Barrett said.

Liberal justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson agreed with the ruling, while expressing displeasure at how the five conservative jurists made the decision.

“The majority announces that a disqualification for insurrection can occur only when Congress enacts a particular kind of legislation pursuant to Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. In doing so, the majority shuts the door on other potential means of federal enforcement. We cannot join an opinion that decides momentous and difficult issues unnecessarily, and we therefore concur only in the judgment,” they said.

The ruling also ensures that Trump’s name will appear on primary ballots in Illinois and Maine, overturning disqualification orders by Maine’s secretary of state and an Illinois judge. The justices made the unusual decision of announcing the ruling without taking the bench in order to address Trump’s ballot eligibility before Super Tuesday. During oral arguments last month, the justice appeared to be deeply skeptical of Colorado’s case.

“BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!” Trump said on Truth Social right after the ruling. His attorneys at the Dhillon Law Group celebrated the Supreme Court ruling for preserving the integrity of the electoral process. Trump is expected to win big on Super Tuesday against former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, his only major opponent left in the GOP presidential primary race.

Colorado secretary of state Jena Griswold (D) expressed disappointment at the Supreme Court’s decision and said Trump should not be allowed on the state’s ballot. The state’s supreme court ruled in December that Trump should be removed from the ballot based on Section three of the 14th Amendment barring insurrectionists from running for office.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) largely relied on the Colorado ruling when she decided to take Trump off her state’s primary ballot. The Colorado GOP and Trump appealed to the Supreme Court in order to have his ballot eligibility restored after the Colorado and Maine decisions.

The Supreme Court will also be taking on Trump’s presidential immunity case to determine whether he can be criminally prosecuted for alleged criminal acts during his time in office.