Name: Supreme Court Rules Trump to Stay on Ballot in Unanimous Ruling
Uploaded: 2024-03-05T05:28:56.000Z
Description: The Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump cannot be removed from the ballot by individual states, overturning the Colorado Supreme Court decision that found him ineligible as a candidate and disqualified from the state ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

Sam Wang is a Washington correspondent for NTD News based in Washington, D.C. Sam covers politics on Capitol Hill, and U.S.-China relations. 

Sam Wang

NTD Plus

News

News with integrity, from the U.S. and around the world. Focused reports and analyses that shed light on major issues the world deserves to know. NTD Evening News airs daily at 6 p.m. ET.

NTD Evening News

Citizens Honor Police for Their Service and Sacrifice

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

Trump ‘Projecting American Influence and Leadership’ on Iran Issue in Beijing: China Expert

Chris Bob is a reporter for NTD and a host of "Profiles of Service." He is also a small business owner. Chris graduated from Union College with a concentration in politics and religion in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

Chris Bob

Senate Panel Advances Crypto Regulation Bill

Jason Blair is a national correspondent for NTD News based in California. 

Jason Blair

Lawmakers Weigh ‘Sanctuary’ Polices After Woman’s Death in Virginia

Christina Corona is a California-based reporter for NTD News. She primarily covers California news, politics, and entertainment.  

Christina Corona

Bonta Announces Major Fentanyl Bust in California

Arian Pasdar is an international correspondent for NTD News based in South America. His reporting focuses on immigration and key events in Latin America.

Arian Pasdar

CENTCOM Commander Admiral Cooper Praises Trump's Military Actions

David Lam is a national correspondent based in California and a part-time anchor for "NTD Tonight." Before joining NTD he was a financial analyst.

David Lam

Lawyers in OpenAI Trial Give Closing Arguments

Eva Fu is a New York-based writer for The Epoch Times focusing on U.S. politics, U.S.-China relations, religious freedom, and human rights. Contact Eva at eva.fu@epochtimes.com

Eva Fu

Jack Bradley is a Washington correspondent for NTD News based in Washington, D.C. Jack previously anchored "NTD Newsroom" and worked as an assistant producer for the show. 

Jack Bradley

China News

Organ Harvesting in China

Congressional Hearing Spotlights Forced Organ Harvesting in China

Dave Martin is NTD's Senior Sports Reporter and sports analyst. He also hosts "Data Hub" segments during NTD's special election coverage, "The Nation Decides."

Dave Martin

Report: Giants WR Nabers Had 2nd Procedure on Knee

Xavier Becerra Leads New California Governor Poll

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 15)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 14)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 12)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 11)

Don Ma is an anchor and senior business correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Don is the anchor and producer of NTD's "Business Matters," which airs weekdays at 4:30 pm ET.

Don Ma

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 10)

Arleen Richards is NTD's legal correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers all major legal stories. Arleen holds a Doctor of Law (J.D.).


Arleen Richards

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 9)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

US News

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

Health News

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

The Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump cannot be removed from the ballot by individual states, overturning the Colorado Supreme Court decision that found him ineligible as a candidate and disqualified from the state ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

"[R]esponsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the States. The judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court therefore cannot stand," the per curiam order <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-719_19m2.pdf">reads</a>. "All nine Members of the Court agree with that result."

The order was issued on March 4, just a day before more than a dozen states hold their primary elections.

President Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112038026037364851">reacted</a> in a brief social media post: "BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!"
<h2>Supreme Court Defers to Congress</h2>
The Supreme Court ruled that states cannot enforce Section 3 for national candidates, but "the Constitution empowers Congress to prescribe how those determinations to be made."

Section 5 of the 14th Amendment spells out Congress's authority to pass legislation to enforce the amendment, and the court opined that this "power is critical when it comes to Section 3."

States may only enforce Section 3 when it comes to state office, the opinion reads, in line with how states have historically used the statute.

The court noted a distinct lack of historical precedent where states used the statute to disqualify national candidates.

"As an initial matter, not even the respondents contend that the Constitution authorizes States to somehow remove sitting federal officeholders who may be violating Section 3," the opinion reads, adding that this sort of power would "flout" Constitutional principles.

The justices found that the text of Section 3 itself reinforces this reading, as it allows Congress to "remove" a Section 3 "disability" through a two-thirds vote.

"The text imposes no limits on that power, and Congress may exercise it any time," the opinion reads.

In a footnote, the court cited cases where Congress voted to remove this disability for members of Congress after the candidates had been elected.

Experts who had <a href="https://landmarklegal.org/trump-v-anderson-trump-ballot-access-case-major-issues-explained/">predicted</a> this ruling outcome had also warned of a potential last-minute disqualification in January. Four Supreme Court justices noted their disagreement in opining on Congress's role in a presidential candidate disqualification.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote a separate, concurring opinion that primarily stressed the unanimity of the court.

"The Court has settled a politically charged issue in the volatile season of a Presidential election," she wrote. "Particularly in this circumstance, writings on the Court should turn the national temperature down, not up. 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."

However, Justice Coney Barrett took issue with the part of the order that opined on the role of federal legislation in enforcing Section 3.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson likewise took issue with opining on federal legislation.

They wrote another concurring order that even though all nine members agreed Colorado could not enforce Section 3, the three justices thought the opinion should have ended there.

"The majority is left with next to no support for its requirement that a Section 3 disqualification can occur only pursuant to legislation enacted for that purpose," the opinion reads.

"Although only an individual State’s action is at issue here, the majority opines on which federal actors can enforce Section 3, and how they must do so," the opinion reads. "In doing so, the majority shuts the door on other potential means of federal enforcement. We cannot join an opinion that decides momentous and difficult issues unnecessarily, and we therefore concur only in the judgment."
<h2>Section 3 Challenges</h2>
The Supreme Court found that a "state-by-state resolution" of these cases "raises heightened concerns," because it would unlikely "yield a uniform answer consistent with the basic principle that “the President ... represent[s] all the voters in the Nation.”

States each have their own, varied election laws, and some allow for procedures to bring a disqualification challenge while others do not.

"The disruption would be all the more acute—and could nullify the votes of millions and change the election result—if Section 3 enforcement were attempted after the Nation has voted," the opinion reads. "Nothing in the Constitution requires that we endure such chaos—arriving at any time or different times, up to and perhaps beyond the Inauguration."

As of mid-February, Trump attorneys reported 88 challenges to President Trump's eligibility in 45 states under the Civil War-era statute.

Besides the Colorado Supreme Court, the Maine secretary of state and an Illinois judge had also ruled President Trump ineligible after finding that he engaged in an alleged "insurrection" for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021. All three disqualifications had been stayed pending a higher court ruling, and no state has actually removed President Trump from any ballot to date.

Justices <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/supreme-court-to-hear-arguments-on-trumps-eligibility-5582878">heard arguments</a> on Feb. 8, during which many of them expressed skepticism that Section 3 was meant to give individual states power over a national election for the position of president, and expressed concern over what affirming that power could do to future elections.

Attorney Jonathan Mitchell had argued that Section 3 did not apply to President Trump; that Jan. 6, 2021, was not an insurrection; and that only Congress could disqualify a presidential candidate under Section 3. While the House impeached President Trump in January 2021 on a single article of impeachment and alleged incitement of insurrection, the Senate later <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/trump-acquitted-in-second-impeachment-trial-3695836">acquitted</a> the former president of the allegations.

Attorney Jason Murray, representing six Colorado voters, argued that Section 3 and Colorado state law together allowed the state to disqualify President Trump as a candidate and urged the Supreme Court to affirm Colorado's findings for all states.

The opinion had been greatly anticipated by many lower courts that held off determining the dozens of ballot challenges filed across nearly every state. Almost half a hundred amicus briefs were filed by officials, lawmakers, legal experts, and voters in the days leading up to oral arguments.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was originally written to prevent deserters who left office to join the Confederacy from returning to their posts. It stipulated that those who had taken an oath of office and later engaged in "insurrection" or "rebellions" could not hold office without a two-thirds vote from Congress removing the disability.

Since Jan. 7, 2021, activists have promoted the legal theory that President Trump was disqualified under this statute, asking top election officials across the nation to bar him from future elections. After a Colorado court tried the case late last year and issued the first ruling regarding Jan. 6 and an "insurrection," Section 3 rulings snowballed into other states.
<h2>Colorado Disqualification</h2>
The Colorado case was brought last summer, and under the state's election code was meant to be heard immediately. However, a district court judge delayed the case about two months before holding a week-long trial.

Plaintiffs presented witness and expert testimony and a record based largely on the controversial Jan. 6 Select Committee report. The original defendant of the case was Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who took no official position but later stated that she personally believed that President Trump engaged in "insurrection" and urged the Supreme Court to affirm his disqualification.

The trial court judge had not disqualified President Trump. Issuing a surprise ruling that determined President Trump had engaged in "insurrection," the judge ruled that Section 3 did not apply to presidents and ordered the secretary of state to add him to the state's primary ballot.

The plaintiffs and attorneys for President Trump appealed the case, and the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the "insurrection" finding but reversed the lower court order, ordering the state secretary to remove him from the ballot if the case was not appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by Jan. 5.

The Colorado GOP, an intervenor in the original case, appealed in short order and the removal was effectively stayed. President Trump appealed as well, and the Supreme Court opted to hear the simpler question his attorneys posed: whether the Colorado Supreme Court erred in its order to remove President Trump as a candidate.

Latest

Court

trump

Videos

Politics

Colorado

Breaking News

01_Lead Story

04_Top Stories

removal

Latest Clips

ballot

Management

Ruling

Supreme Court

Catherine Yang is a reporter for The Epoch Times based in New York.

Catherine Yang

Iris Tao is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. Prior to her work at the White House, Iris reported on U.S. politics and U.S.–China relations from NTD’s New York headquarters. She holds degrees in journalism and economics from Boston University.

Iris Tao

2024 Elections

02_Second Lead

Courts

Donald Trump

Trump Indictments

disqualification

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.