2024 presidential eligibility of Donald Trump

Eligibility of Donald Trump on GOP primary ballots by state prior to Trump v. Anderson:
  Case dismissed by state supreme court
  Case dismissed by lower court
  Decision ruled that Trump is ineligible; stayed, reversed by United States Supreme Court
  Lawsuit filed

Donald Trump's eligibility to run in the 2024 U.S. presidential election was the subject of dispute due to his involvement in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, through the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution's "insurrection clause", which disqualifies insurrectionists against the United States from holding office if they have previously taken an oath to support the constitution. Courts or officials in three states—Colorado, Maine, and Illinois—ruled that Trump was barred from presidential ballots. However, the Supreme Court in Trump v. Anderson (2024) reversed the ruling in Colorado on the basis that states could not enforce the insurrection clause against federal elected officials.[1]

In December 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court in Anderson v. Griswold ruled that Trump had engaged in insurrection and was ineligible to hold the office of President, and ordered that he be removed from the state's primary election ballots as a result.[2] Later that same month, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows also ruled that Trump engaged in insurrection and was therefore ineligible to be on the state's primary election ballot. An Illinois judge ruled Trump was ineligible for ballot access in the state in February 2024.[3] All three states had their decisions unanimously reversed by the United States Supreme Court.[4] Previously, the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals both ruled that presidential eligibility cannot be applied by their state courts to primary elections, but did not rule on the issues for a general election. By January 2024, formal challenges to Trump's eligibility had been filed in at least 34 states.[5][6]

On January 5, 2024, the Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari for Trump's appeal of the Colorado Supreme Court ruling in Anderson v. Griswold[7] and heard oral arguments on February 8.[8] On March 4, 2024, the Supreme Court issued a ruling unanimously reversing the Colorado Supreme Court decision, ruling that states had no authority to remove Trump from their ballots.[9]

Several commentators have also argued for disqualification because of democratic backsliding, as well as the paradox of tolerance, arguing that voters should not be able to elect Donald Trump, whom they see as a threat to the republic.[10] Other commentators argue that removing Trump from the ballot constitutes democratic backsliding.[11][12]

There has been widespread doxing, swatting, bomb scares, and other violent threats made against politicians who have attempted to remove Trump from the ballot. On December 29, 2023, Secretary Bellows was swatted.[13] The incidents are part of a broader spate of swatting attacks.[14]

  1. ^ Trump v. Anderson, No. 23-719, 601 U.S. ___ (2024)
  2. ^ Riccardi, Nicholas (February 5, 2024). "Here's how 2 sentences in the Constitution rose from obscurity to ensnare Donald Trump". Associated Press.
  3. ^ "Illinois judge rules Trump ineligible for Republican primary ballot over Jan. 6 riot". NBC News. February 28, 2024.
  4. ^ "States can't kick Trump off ballot, Supreme Court says". Politico. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  5. ^ Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas; Smith, Mitch (January 3, 2024). "What to Know About the Efforts to Remove Trump From the 2024 Ballot". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  6. ^ Gamio, Lazaro; Smith, Mitch (January 4, 2024). "Tracking Efforts to Remove Trump From the 2024 Ballot". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  7. ^ Hurley, Lawrence (January 5, 2024). "Supreme Court agrees to weigh whether Trump can be kicked off ballot in Colorado". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  8. ^ Chung, Andrew; Kruzel, John (February 8, 2024). "US Supreme Court justices grill Trump lawyer over ballot disqualification". Reuters. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  9. ^ Sherman, Mark (March 4, 2024). "Supreme Court restores Trump to ballot, rejecting state attempts to ban him over Capitol attack". Associated Press. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Threat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "The Folly of Colorado's Trump Disqualification". The Wall Street Journal. December 20, 2023. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  12. ^ Rubenfeld, Jed (January 4, 2024). "A Solution to the Trump Ballot Conundrum". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  13. ^ Elena, Maria (December 30, 2023). "Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows' home targeted with swatting call". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  14. ^ Lee, Dave (January 4, 2024). "US Must Stop 'Swatting' From Becoming an Election Weapon". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.

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