Colorado Supreme Court disqualifies former President Donald Trump from 2024 ballot
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) - The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump is disqualified from holding the office of the President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Colorado Supreme Court says that because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the Presidential primary ballot in March, 2024.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold released the following statement.
The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump is barred from the Colorado ballot for inciting the January 6 insurrection and attempting to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election. This decision may be appealed. I will continue to follow court guidance on this important issue.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold
Colorado Republican Party Chair Dave Williams tells KRDO 13 Investigates he will immediately appeal the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling on disqualifying former President Donald Trump from the republican primary ballot.
"This is election interference. This is tyranny. They're taking the ability for people to vote for the candidates they want to vote for," Williams said. "We're not going to take it lying down. We're gonna do everything we can to make sure that Donald Trump is on that ballot."
The Colorado Supreme Court's ruling is stayed until January 4, the day that Secretary of State Griswold is required to certify the candidates who are eligible to appear on the primary ballot. This allows the Colorado GOP, who was a party in the case, the ability to file an appeal before that date.
"We're not going to let this happen. We're not going to go along with it. We're not going to surrender. We're going to appeal all the way to the United States Supreme Court and put this to bed once and for all," Williams said.
The Colorado Supreme Court's ruling was 4-3 in favor of barring Trump from appearing on the primary ballot. In Justice Brian Boatright's dissenting opinion, he argued that Trump should not be barred primarily because he has not been charged or convicted of a crime tied to any type of role in an insurrection.
Justice Carlos Samour dissented as well and claimed that, "there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office." He added that the majority decision "flies in the face of the due process doctrine."
On the other side, the affirming justices ruled the events on January 6, 2021 were a "insurrection," and that former President Trump did participate in said insurrection "through his personal actions."
They concluded that Trump gave a speech on that very day that was not protected by the First Amendment, a speech they claim helped "incite the crowd that breached the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021."
Colorado Secretary of State Griswold says she will comply with any order handed down by the United States Supreme Court, including a potential reversal on the decision made by Colorado's highest court.
"Whatever law is in place, by the time that I certify the ballot, whatever court cases in place and court order is in place, I will follow as Colorado Secretary of State," Griswold said.
