A remarkable development unfolded in Colorado when a judge dismissed an attempt to prevent former President Donald Trump from being included on the state’s 2024 election ballot.
Colorado District Court Judge Sarah B. Wallace delivered a ruling in the Trump ballot eligibility case, instructing the Colorado secretary of state to place Trump on the state’s primary ballot next year.
This ruling marks another win for Trump following similar legal efforts failed in Minnesota and Michigan, where courts rejected bids to disqualify him from running for President.
A group of Colorado voters lodged a legal challenge in September, contending that Trump’s actions related to election results overturn and the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot violated the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, rendering him unfit for office.
In her ruling, Wallace acknowledged that while Trump did incite a riot on January 6, 2021, they are not subject to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment because they are not an “officer of the United States.”
She argued that Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment doesn’t apply to Trump, as it explicitly lists all federal elected positions except the president’s.
Wallace wrote, “it appears to the Court that for whatever reason the drafters of Section Three did not intend to include a person who had only taken the Presidential Oath.”
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and multiple law firms initiated the lawsuit on behalf of the voters.
Attorney Sean Grimsley said the group would appeal, proclaiming, “We believe that it does,” referring to Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment in a statement.
CREW President Noah Bookbinder reiterated in a statement that the group intends to file an appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court “shortly.”
Trump’s attorney declined to comment Friday night following the court’s ruling.
The lawsuit alleged that Trump “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” after taking an oath to uphold the Constitution, seeking to declare him constitutionally ineligible to appear on any Colorado ballot for state or federal office.
Wallace commenced hearing arguments in the case last month, with closing arguments in the trial occurring Wednesday.
Grimsley stated in a closing argument, “Through his actions, and his actions alone, Donald Trump has disqualified himself from ever holding office again.”
The former president is facing similar challenges in other states to keep him off the ballot in 2024. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled last week that state law did not bar a major political party from placing a candidate who is ineligible for office on the presidential nomination primary ballot, and a Michigan judge denied a similar effort on Tuesday, finding that the secretary of state lacked the authority to intervene.
Scott Gessler, Trump’s attorney, highlighted those cases in his closing argument, asserting that there is “an emerging consensus here within the judiciary across the United States.”
Top election officials in Arizona, New Hampshire and elsewhere are also weighing concerns similar to those raised in Colorado as they prepare state ballots for next year’s Republican presidential primaries, where Trump leads in the polls.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
