Trump Files Appeal To U.S. Supreme Court Over Decision To Remove Him From Colorado Ballot

 Former President Donald Trump filed an appeal on Wednesday to the U.S. Supreme Court asking them to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove him from the 2024 presidential primary ballot. 

The appeal came one day after Trump appealed a similar decision in Maine by the state’s Democratic secretary of state to kick him off the ballot. Lawyers for Trump said that the Supreme Court should reverse the Colorado decision and “return the right to vote for their candidate of choice to the voters.”

“The question of eligibility to serve as President of the United States is properly reserved for Congress, not the state courts, to consider and decide. By considering the question of President Trump’s eligibility and barring him from the ballot, the Colorado Supreme Court arrogated Congress’ authority,” the appeal said. 

In a 4-3 decision last month, the Colorado Supreme Court found Trump ineligible to appear on the ballot, claiming he had participated in an “insurrection,” but placed the ruling on hold until January 4, pending an expected appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Trump’s appeal says that the Colorado Supreme Court misinterpreted the facts and that he was not guilty of insurrection on January 6, 2021. “It was not ‘insurrection’ and President Trump in no way ‘engaged’ in ‘insurrection,’” the appeal says. 

The filing pointed to Trump’s remarks on January 6, where he told his supporters to “peacefully” protest the 2020 election. 

“We are reviewing Trump’s appeal and will be filing our response tomorrow to ensure the Colorado Supreme Court’s historic ruling stands,” said Eric Olson, a lawyer who represented the Colorado residents who sued to bar Trump from office. 

 

The former president and current frontrunner for the Republican nomination will be allowed to be on the Colorado ballot for now thanks to a previous appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court by the Colorado Republican Party. 

“With the appeal filed, Donald Trump will be included as a candidate on Colorado’s 2024 Presidential Primary Ballot when certification occurs on January 5, 2024, unless the U.S. Supreme Court declines to take the case or otherwise affirms the Colorado Supreme Court ruling,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s office said last week.