Topline
A group in Minnesota filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging whether former President Donald Trump can be on the 2024 ballot under the 14th Amendment, which states anyone who took an oath to support the Constitution and then âengaged in insurrection or rebellion againstâ it is disqualified, marking the second recent lawsuit claiming Trump is ineligible to be on the ballot.
Key Facts
The suit argues Trump is âconstitutionally ineligible for the office of President of the United States,â or any other office, because he âengaged in insurrection or rebellion, or gave aid and comfort to its enemies,â which would disqualify him under the 14th Amendment.
It goes on to say the âviolent, coordinated effort to storm the Capitol to obstruct and preventâ the certification of President Joe Bidenâs win on January 6 qualifies as an insurrection, and the âeffort to overthrow the results of the 2020 election by unlawful meansâ qualifies as rebellion.
Itâs not clear how the section in the Amendment the group says prevents Trump from being on the ballot is supposed to be enforced as itâs only been used twice since the Civil War when it was used against former Confederates, CNN reported.
Crucial Quote
âOur predecessors understood that oath-breaking insurrectionists will do it again, and worse, if allowed back into power, so they enacted the Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause to protect the republic from people like Trump. Trump is legally barred from the ballot and election officials must follow this constitutional mandate,â Ron Fein, legal director at Free Speech For Peopleâthe group that filed the suitâsaid in a press release.
Tangent
A similar suit was filed in Colorado last week by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a left-leaning government ethics watchdog group. Similar to Tuesdayâs suit, the CREW suit argues Trump should be barred from the ballot due to his role in the January 6 riots. The Colorado suit wasnât the first, though, and it likely wonât be the last. In August, a Florida tax attorney and other voters brought a case challenging Trumpâs candidacy, but it was dismissed when a federal judge ruled the plaintiffs didnât have standing to bring the lawsuit and âchallenge whether another individual is qualified to hold public office.â John Castro, who is planning to be a write-in candidate for president, has filed multiple lawsuits in Texas, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona challenging Trumpâs candidacy.
What We Donât Know
Whether the 14th Amendment can actually be used to keep Trump off the ballot. A number of legal scholars on both sides of the political aisle have said the 14th Amendment does disqualify Trump, but the legal argument hasnât been tested yet in court. In August, election officials in some states said they want to see this kind of litigation settled by the Supreme Court because of the lack of guidance on whether or not he should be kept on the ballot.
Key Background
The Minnesota Republican primary is set for March 5, 2024âSuper Tuesdayâand the lawsuit moves to keep Trump off of the primary ballot and the general election ballot if he wins the Republican primary nationwide. Trump has been the clear front-runner for Republicans in the polls for months, and was polling at 53% as of Tuesday, according to the latest FiveThirtyEight polling average, about 40 points ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his closest opponent. One does not have to face charges to be disqualified to hold office under the 14th Amendment, but Trump is scheduled to go to trial in federal court for his role in the January 6 riots and attempts to overturn the election results on March 4, just one day before Super Tuesday.