Trump disqualified from 2024 ballot by Colorado Court

Colorado’s Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump has been disqualified from serving as U.S. president and cannot appear on the primary ballot in Colorado next year in the state as a result of an insurrection, Reuters reports.

The constitutional ineligibility of former President Trump was decided by the court on the 19th December on the basis of his engagement and role in the 6th January 2021 attack on the U.S. capitol, which was instigated by Trump supporters.

The 4-3 decision by the Colorado Supreme Court, which is likely to be upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, renders Trump the first presidential candidate to be ruled ineligible for the White House under a rarely utilised constitutional provision which prevents officials who have engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” from being in office.

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Donald Trump vowed to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The ruling only applies to Colorado’s Republican primary on the 5th March, but could nonetheless have an effect on Trump’s standing in the state for the U.S. general election on the 5th November.

The Colorado court ruled that Trump is disqualified for office because of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, called the insurrection clause, which prohibits anyone from holding political office if they took an oath to uphold the constitution but “engaged” in “insurrection or rebellion” against it. The clause was added to the constitution after the Civil War to prohibit Confederate leaders from serving in the government against which they had rebelled.

On the 20th December, Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social. “What a shame for our country!!!” he wrote. “A sad day for America!!!”

The Trump campaign described the court’s decision as “undemocratic.”

“The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court,” a spokesperson from the Trump campaign told Reuters.

The ruling of the Colorado Supreme Court does not come into effect until the 4th January 2024. This is the night before the state’s deadline for printing its ballots for the presidential primary election.

Reuters / BBC