Minnesota Supreme Court Rules On Petition To Remove Donald Trump From 2024 Primary Ballot

The Minnesota Supreme Court has rejected a petition to remove Donald Trump from the 2024 primary ballot under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause.

“The Minnesota Supreme Court rejects an effort to remove Trump from the 2024 primary ballot. However, they say a case could still be brought against Trump appearing on the general election ballot,” Alpha News writes.

“Because there is no error to correct here as to the presidential nomination primary, and petitioners’ other claims regarding the general election are not ripe, the petition must be dismissed, but without prejudice as to petitioners bringing a petition raising their claims as to the general election,” the ruling stated.

BREAKING: The Minnesota Supreme Court rejects an effort to remove Trump from the 2024 primary ballot. However, they say a case could still be brought against Trump appearing on the general election ballot. pic.twitter.com/cZKI5ovLyz

— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) November 8, 2023

BREAKING: Minnesota Supreme Court dismisses ‘insurrection clause’ challenge, allowing Trump to remain on the 2024 primary ballot. – AP pic.twitter.com/TeEOQ3b6tc

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) November 8, 2023

“The ruling came quickly; five justices heard oral arguments on the case last Thursday and sounded skeptical during the 70-minute session,” the Star Tribune noted.

More from the Star Tribune:

Chief Justice Natalie Hudson started out saying, “‘Should we’ is the question that concerns me most.” She raised the specter of electoral chaos if 50 state courts decided differently on Trump’s eligibility. “So, should we do it?” she asked.

The decision came on a petition filed in early September by a bipartisan group seeking to bar Trump from the Minnesota ballot based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The so-called insurrection clause prohibits former officers from holding office again if they’ve “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort” to those who did.

Leading the effort were the nonprofit Free Speech for People, former Minnesota Secretary of State Joan Growe and former Supreme Court Justice Paul H. Anderson. Their attorney, Ronald Fein, argued that Trump is disqualified from holding future office because of his actions on and leading up to Jan. 6, 2021.

Before the session last week, Anderson said in an email that the decision won’t be the final word. “The issue will be appealed to and decided by the U.S. Supreme Court,” he wrote.

JUST IN: The Minnesota Supreme Court rejected a request to bar former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot under the U.S. Constitution's insurrection clause. https://t.co/hZd8l20ppl

— Star Tribune (@StarTribune) November 8, 2023

KSTP added:

The justices’ order calls the nomination of a candidate “an internal party election” and adds that “there is no state statute that prohibits a major political party from placing on the presidential nomination primary ballot, or sending delegates to the national convention supporting, a candidate who is ineligible to hold office.”

Therefore, the justices dismissed the case, albeit without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled if a group finds a better argument.

Back in September, a group of Minnesota voters petitioned the court to block Trump from ballots, saying the 14th Amendment’s “Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause” bars him from holding public office due to his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. It’s the first time the rarely used clause has been used to try to disqualify a president from running for office again, and other states have seen similar efforts.

Trump’s attorneys urged the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the events on Jan. 6 didn’t meet the definition of an insurrection. Trump also hasn’t been convicted of an insurrection in any criminal case, although the group’s lawsuit contended that a conviction isn’t required.

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Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said in September that his office had gotten “hundreds of emails, calls, and letters” about Trump’s eligibility and the 14th Amendment. He noted that his office doesn’t have the authority to keep any candidate off a ballot, saying that’s up to the courts.