Washington— On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump requested the Supreme Court to reverse a Colorado state court finding that barred him from the state primary ballot due to his activities leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
The Colorado Supreme Court found Donald Trump cannot appear on the Republican primary ballot under the 14th Amendment.
A Colorado Republican Party appeal had been filed. According to the state court order, Trump remains on the Colorado ballot until the Supreme Court rules.
The Colorado Supreme Court's Dec. 19 ruling relied on the 14th Amendment's ban on "engaged in insurrection" candidates for federal office.
The issue poses fresh legal questions, such as whether the wording applies to presidential candidates and who decides rebellion. The verdict would "mark the first time in the history of the United States
that the judiciary has prevented voters from casting ballots for the leading major-party presidential candidate," Trump's lawyers claimed in the brief.
Former President Trump On Sept. 8, 2023, former President Donald Trump speaks at the South Dakota Republican Party's Monumental Leaders gathering in Rapid City.
Lawyers urged the court should "return the right to vote for their candidate of choice to the voters." They added that only Congress can choose presidents.