Leftwing activist groups have appealed lower court decisions to keep Donald Trump on the ballot in two states. They’re hoping to block ballot access to the former president in 2024.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed an appeal Monday with the Colorado Supreme Court. The liberal activist group is hoping the Centennial State’s highest court will overturn a judge’s recent ruling to keep Trump on the ballot there.
🚨BREAKING: Colorado District Court Judge Sarah Wallace has REJECTED the stupid lawsuit from liberal activists to keep Donald Trump off the ballot in the state for the 2024 election under the 14th amendment insurrection clause. pic.twitter.com/eA7oSY7iQg
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 18, 2023
Trump opponents have also appealed a similar ruling in Michigan. The group bypassed an appeals court and directly petitioned the Michigan Supreme Court. They also asked for a Dec 1 decision from the Michigan SCOTUS.
CREW’s president, Noah Bookbinder, said the organization is “ready to take this case as far as necessary to ensure that Donald Trump is removed from the ballot.”
“We always knew this case would end up before the Colorado Supreme Court, and have been preparing for that from the beginning,” Bookbinder added.
The thrust of CREW’s argument is the 2021 U.S. Capitol protest disqualifies Trump from running for president again in 2024. The court petitioners allege Trump incited an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. They argue that disqualifies him under the insurrections clause of the 14th Amendment.
In the Colorado case, the state judge wrote, “The court holds there is scant direct evidence regarding whether the presidency is one of the positions subject to disqualification.”
Trump wins again and liberals are crying a river of tears. 😭
Minnesota, Michigan and now Colorado judges and Supreme Courts have ruled against far left attempts to keep Trump off the ballot for the 2024 Presidential race.
What do you think they will try next? pic.twitter.com/wSvjvEMdT4
— Bill Ellmore 𝕏 (@BillEllmore) November 18, 2023
The presidency is notably absent from the list of federal offices in the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. So even if Donald Trump incited insurrection, the basis for CREW’s case has no legal merit. But the government has not even charged Trump with insurrection.
Meanwhile, activists in Michigan have appealed a judge’s decision earlier in November greenlighting Trump to appear on the 2024 Republican primary ballot there.
Free Speech for People, the group behind the Michigan effort, previously sued Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson not to certify Trump for the primary election. The group used the same 14th Amendment argument as CREW, but a state judge rejected their arguments as well.
The Trump campaign said Tuesday that these efforts are an attempt to “deny the American people the right to choose their next president.”
