Colorado Puts Trump Back On Ballot

The Colorado Secretary of State has placed former President Donald Trump back on the ballot. This comes as Republicans appeal the Colorado Supreme Court ruling removing him from the ballot to the U.S. Supreme Court.

From Fox News:

The Colorado secretary of state will include former President Donald Trump on the 2024 Colorado primary ballot after Republicans filed an appeal to the Supreme Court.

On Wednesday, the Colorado GOP filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court after the state Supreme Court’s decision to remove Trump from the primary ballot.

Following the appeal, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced that she will include Trump on the primary ballot on the Jan. 5 certification deadline, unless the U.S. Supreme Court affirms the lower court’s ruling or declines to take up the case.

“Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and was disqualified under the Constitution from the Colorado Ballot,” Griswold said in a press release.

“The Colorado Supreme Court got it right. This decision is now being appealed,” she continued. “I urge the U.S. Supreme Court to act quickly given the upcoming presidential primary election.”

Trump’s inclusion on the ballot creates an unprecedented situation for the U.S. Supreme Court amid two dueling rulings — the controversial Colorado ruling and the Michigan Supreme Court’s ruling batting down an attempt to remove Trump from the primary ballot there.

It is widely expected the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the Colorado Supreme Court decision. The only real question is how the court will reach its decision.

Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme Court must address the whole insurrection question or we will be back here again for the general election. 

Donald Trump was impeached for insurrection but the U.S. Senate declined to convict him. In addition, Trump has never been charged for insurrection. Removing Trump from the ballot without a criminal proceeding for insurrection, a crime that is defined under federal law, opens up a precedent the left may not like.

Also, there is the fact that attempts to remove Trump from the ballot have failed everywhere else except the Colorado Supreme Court. The argument that Trump committed insurrection is far from the slam dunk many of its proponents claim it is. Many of these people are simply trying to get the courts to fit their personal preferences, which is that Donald Trump should not be president again.

Now did Donald Trump commit insurrection? The answer is clearly no. There is no law against contesting the results of elections and those election result contests were dealt with in the proper place which is the courts. Trump has not been charged with insurrection in relation to trying to persuade then-Vice President Mike Pence and Congress to throw out election results. Finally, Trump’s January 6th speech is clearly protected by the First Amendment. 

Trump is back on the ballot in Colorado and he should stay on the ballot.