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UPDATE: Here Are The 16 States Seeking To Keep President Trump OFF The 2024 Ballot

I told you when it happened that Colorado’s decision to ban President Trump from the 2024 ballot would setup a chain reaction of other states following suit….I just didn’t think it would happen this fast or grow quite this big.

But it has.

We now have a total of 16 states who have either already banned President Trump or are in the process.

A big shoutout to the folks over at LawfareMedia.org who are doing an excellent job tracking this…

Here’s what they’ve put on their homepage:

Almost immediately after Jan. 6, 2021, legal commentators began debating whether Section 3 of the 14th Amendment could be used to disqualify former President Donald Trump from running in the 2024 presidential election. They discussed, in particular, whether or not Section 3 applied to a former president, whether it is self-executing, and whether Jan. 6 could be considered an insurrection or rebellion.

Since then, the issue has become less abstract, though no less contentious. In February 2021, the U.S. Senate acquitted Trump of an impeachment article for inciting insurrection, but with a bipartisan majority of the Senate voting to convict. Section 3 challenges have been mounted against several legislators, and one state-level county commissioner who participated in the attack was successfully ousted from his post under that provision. At the end of 2022, the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol made the argument that Trump did inspire an insurrection, referring him to the Justice Department for prosecution under multiple criminal statutes, including one prohibiting insurrection. The Special Counsel’s Office has since brought a criminal case in Washington, D.C. charging Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack. And some prominent legal conservatives have made the case for a strong, originalist reading of Section 3 that they argue would apply to Trump, immediately disqualifying him from office.

Beginning in winter 2023, voters and advocacy groups have brought many Section 3 challenges in state and federal courts across the country, attempting to block Trump’s name from appearing on ballots for state primaries and caucuses before the general election begins. On Dec. 19, the Colorado Supreme Court became the first in the nation to rule that Trump is disqualified under Section 3 and cannot be listed as a candidate on the state’s primary ballot.

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This page is intended to track which states have active Section 3 litigation to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot. At the bottom is a selected reading of Lawfare’s coverage on the issue. Note that the procedural posture and legal theories behind these challenges vary greatly, and a dismissal in any particular action does not necessarily bar other challenges from being brought in that same state.

NATIONAL POLL: Should The U.S. Supreme Court Overturn Colorado’s Decision To BAN Trump From The Ballot?

Now, check out this map, also from the LawfareMedia homepage:

That map shows as PENDING:  Oregon, Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming, New Mexico, Texas, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Vermont.

It as PENDING APPEAL: Arizona and Michigan.

And of course it shows as TRUMP DISQUALIFIED: Colorado.

From Lawfare, here is more on some of the big cases:

  • Colorado—Anderson et al v. Griswold et al was filed on Sept. 9, 2023 by six Colorado voters against Jena Griswold, in her official capacity as Colorado Secretary of State, and Donald J. Trump. On Nov. 17, Judge Sarah B. Wallace dismissed the petitioners suit, but determined that Trump engaged in insurrection. On Dec. 19, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on appeal that former President Donald Trump is disqualified from being President under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The decision is stayed for the Supreme Court to decide to weigh in. Follow the docket here.
  • Minnesota—Growe et al v. Simon was filed on Sept. 12, 2023 by eight Minnesota voters against Steve Simon, in his official capacity as Minnesota Secretary of State. On Nov. 8, the Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed the petition, but added that the plaintiffs could bring a new petition regarding the general election ballot following the upcoming Republican primaries. Follow the docket here.
  • Michigan—LaBrant et al v. Benson was filed on Sept. 29, 2023 by four Michigan voters against Jocelyn Benson, in her official capacity as Michigan Secretary of State. On Nov. 14, Judge James Redford of the Michigan Court of Claims dismissed the petition. Michigan voters appealed, and the State of Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the Court of Claims’ decision on Dec. 14. Plaintiffs appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court on Dec. 18.
  • Oregon—Nelson et al v. Griffin-Valade was filed on Dec. 6, 2023 by five Oregon voters and state electors against Lavonne Griffin-Valade, in her official capacity as Oregon Secretary of State. It was filed in the Oregon Supreme Court. The petitioners are posting some of the case documents here.

We’ll continue to monitor this story and bring you updates.

Here was our last report on the matter:

Six More States Now Actively Investigating REMOVAL Of President Trump From 2024 Ballot

I told you this would be coming next….

And right on cue, six states are already vying to follow Colorado’s lead and remove President Trump from the 2024 ballot.

The full list of states that are currently investigating whether they can remove Trump from the 2024 ballot includes:
  1. Colorado
  2. New Mexico
  3. New Hampshire
  4. California
  5. Maine
  6. Minnesota

These states are examining the possibility of using the 14th Amendment to bar Trump from running in the 2024 election due to his alleged involvement in the January 6th Capitol riot.

Here is Minnesota:

And California:

Here is the actual letter sent by California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis to Secretary of State Shirley Weber asking her to “explore every legal option to remove former President Donald Trump from California’s 2024 presidential primary ballot.”:

Here’s the full transcription of that letter:

ELENI KOUNALAKIS
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

The Honorable Dr. Shirley N. Weber
California Secretary of State
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, California 95814

Dear Secretary Weber,

Based on the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling in Anderson v. Griswold (2023 CO 63), I urge you to explore every legal option to remove former President Donald Trump from California’s 2024 presidential primary ballot.

I am prompted by the Colorado Supreme Court’s recent ruling that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot as a Presidential Candidate due to his role in inciting an insurrection in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. This decision is absolutely terrifying as if our country and Supreme Court had any fundamental ideals of democracy remaining.

Specifically, the Colorado Supreme Court held in Anderson v. Griswold (2023 CO 63) that “Trump’s insurrection” disqualifies him under section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to stand for presidential re-election. Furthermore, the state of Illinois has also ruled that a “would-be presidential” may be disqualified from candidacy in the state if the current candidate’s mental or mental fitness for the office. Each state certainly is sovereign, as a 2003 amendment to the Neil Gorsuch to make their legitimate interest in protecting the integrity and practical functioning of the political process that permits it to exclude from the ballot candidates who are constitutionally prohibited from assuming office.”

California must stand on the right side of history. California is obligated to determine if Trump is ineligible for a state’s ballot for the same reasons as determined in Anderson. The Colorado decision, it is the constitutional prerogative to exclude from the ballot any candidate for the presidential primaries that fails to meet the basic requirements established under the constitution is clear: you must be 40 years old, a natural-born citizen, and reside in the United States.

There will be the inevitable political punditry about a decision to remove Trump from the ballot, but this is not a matter of political gamesmanship. This is a dire matter that puts at stake the sanctity of our constitution and our democracy.

Time is of the essence as your announcement of the certified list of candidates for the March 5, 2024, primary election is coming up next week, on December 28, 2023.

Thank you for all your work to make our state’s elections a shining example across the country and world and for your time and consideration on this urgent matter.

Best,

[Signature]

Ambassador Eleni Kounalakis (RET.)
Lieutenant Governor

STATE CAPITOL, ROOM 8730, 1021 O ST., SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA 95814 – PHONE (916) 445-8994
WWW.LTG.CA.GOV

Maine will be issuing a ruling by Friday….and guesses at to which way they will lean?

And here’s New Hampshire:

This is an even expanded list that may show more than Six States pursuing Trump’s removal:

FYI🚨: Pending cases to disqualify Trump from the 2024 ballot:

Alaska
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Oregon
South Carolina
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

I think this is a pretty great summary of where we’re currently at:

NATIONAL POLL: Should The U.S. Supreme Court Overturn Colorado’s Decision To BAN Trump From The Ballot?

RELATED:

Did You Know Abraham Lincoln Was Also Removed From The Ballot In An Election?

Is history about to repeat itself in a big way?

Do you even know this bit of history?

Did you know this isn’t the first time Democrats have removed a candidate from the ballot that they didn’t like?

It’s true, only with President Abraham Lincoln it was TEN states:

Hey, maybe it will be 10 with Trump too when all is said and done, there’s still a lot of time to go!

Heck, maybe Trump will get to “17” — wouldn’t that be poetic?

Q.

Here are the TEN STATES that turned on Lincoln:

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana

Just like Colorado now, the Democrats, who were mainly slave owners, barred Republican presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln from appearing on the ballots in 10 Southern states during the 1860 presidential election. But Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th President of the United States, becoming the first Republican president in American history.

NOTE: These states were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Virginia.

NOTE: Lincoln did not appear on the ballots in those Southern states because they did not support his candidacy due to his anti-slavery stance. The Democrats wanted to keep slavery forever.

NOTE: Those slave states chose to support other candidates or not include his name on their ballots. However, despite not being on the ballots in those states, he won the election with a majority of electoral votes from the states where he was on the ballot.

MY TAKE: It’s ironic that the Republicans now are described as the racists, people who hate black people when actually, they brought slavery to an end, and the Democrats wanted to keep black people enslaved, even going to war to secede. May God help us not repeat history.

Here are even more details:

Yes, Abraham Lincoln was once taken off the ballot in an election. This occurred during the presidential election of 1860, when the United States was deeply divided over the issue of slavery and its expansion into the western territories.

In that election, the Democratic Party split into two factions due to disagreements over slavery. The Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas, while the Southern Democrats nominated John Breckinridge. Meanwhile, the newly formed Republican Party, which opposed the expansion of slavery, nominated Abraham Lincoln as their candidate.

In the Southern states, where slavery was widely supported, Lincoln’s name was deliberately excluded from the ballot. This was done by the Southern Democratic Party as a protest against Lincoln’s anti-slavery stance. As a result, Lincoln was not an option for voters in ten Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

Despite being left off the ballot in these states, Lincoln went on to win the election, securing a majority of the electoral votes from the Northern states. However, his victory further polarized the nation, and within a few months of his election, seven Southern states seceded from the Union, forming the Confederate States of America. This ultimately led to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.

In summary, Abraham Lincoln was indeed taken off the ballot in an election, specifically the presidential election of 1860 in the Southern states that supported slavery. This event was a significant factor in the growing tensions between the North and the South, which eventually led to the Civil War.

Let’s hope the White Hats have done enough this time to avoid a Civil War….

NATIONAL POLL: Should The U.S. Supreme Court Overturn Colorado’s Decision To BAN Trump From The Ballot?


 

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