In a massive decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that former President Donald Trump could not be removed from Colorado’s state ballot, undoing the ruling put forth by the Colorado Supreme Court.
“The judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court therefore cannot stand,” the Supreme Court wrote. “All nine Members of the Court agree with that result.”
Many states attempted to launch campaigns against Trump to get the GOP frontrunner off their ballots, pointing to Article 3 of the 14th Amendment as the reason he couldn’t be on the ballot. The provision bars former officeholders who “engaged in insurrection” from returning to any public office.
However, the court believes that it is not a state’s right to enforce the constitutional amendment.
“We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency,” the decision read.
The Justices believed that “state enforcement of Section 3 with respect to the Presidency would raise heightened concerns,” potentially leading to “variations in state law governing the proceedings that are necessary to make Section 3 disqualification determinations.”
“The result could well be that a single candidate would be declared ineligible in some States, but not others, based on the same conduct (and perhaps even the same factual record).”
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold released a statement on Monday reacting to the Supreme Court ruling, writing, “The United States Supreme Court has ruled that states do not have the authority to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment for federal candidates.”
“In accordance with this decision, Donald Trump is an eligible candidate for Colorado’s 2024 Presidential Primary,” it continued.
Trump was quick to react to the decision, releasing a succinct message on his Truth Social account “BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!”
Several Justices wrote concurring opinions, such as Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who stated, “The Court has settled a politically charged issue in the volatile season of a Presidential election.”
“Particularly in this circumstance, writings on the Court should turn the national temperature down, not up,” she continued. “For present purposes, our differences are far less important than our unanimity: All nine Justices agree on the outcome of this case. That is the message Americans should take home.”
Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson had a concurrence that agreed with the decision to restore Trump to the Colorado ballot but disagreed with the majority opinion about who “can enforce Section 3, and how they must do so.”
The Monday ruling has undoubtedly set a major precedent for America, allowing for free and fair elections unshackled from unjust political targeting.
