Colorado GOP Appeals Trump Ballot Ban to SCOTUS

Facts

• Colorado Supreme Court's recent ruling to remove former Pres. Donald Trump — the frontrunner for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination — from the state's primary ballot has been appealed to the US Supreme Court by Colorado's Republican Party.¹
• The Colorado court voted 4-3 on Dec. 19 to force Trump off the primary ballot because of alleged violations of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, accusing the former president of “engaging in insurrection” during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the US Capitol.²
• In its appeal, the Colorado GOP claims the court “engaged in an unprecedented disregard” for the First Amendment right of political parties to choose their candidate, as well as an 'usurpation of the rights of the people' to freely vote for Trump.³
• The appeal also alleges the court “failed to apply precedent” when determining the 14th Amendment had been violated and when classifying the president as a liable “officer of the United States.”³
• SCOTUS has never previously ruled on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was added to the Constitution following the Civil War. The Colorado court’s decision was the first time the provision has been used to block a presidential candidate for a ballot.⁴
• This appeal comes in the same week the Michigan Supreme Court announced it would not hear an appeal aiming to remove the former president from its state ballot, concluding that arguments concerning Section 3 were insufficient for the court to review a lower court's rejection of the case.⁵

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²Documentcloud (a), ³Documentcloud (b), ⁴CBS and ⁵Reuters.com.

Narratives

• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by The Western Journal. The Colorado court is attempting to block Trump from running for the state's Republican nomination despite the highly qualified former president having not been convicted of any crimes. This decision is just corrupt Democrats and the Biden administration continuing to attempt to disqualify him because they know they can’t beat him, as evidenced by his strong polling.
• Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by MSNBC. The Colorado GOP, Trump, and his lawyers certainly have the right to appeal this decision, but the law is on the side of the plaintiffs. Section 3 exists to protect US democracy from those who threaten it — in this case, a president who refused to concede and instead incited a resurrection. This isn’t a politically motivated decision; it’s enforcement of the Constitution.

Predictions