The US Supreme Court on Monday, March 4 ruled that the state of Colorado was wrong to exclude former President Donald Trump from its presidential primary ballot.
The opinion had been expedited due to the timing of the primaries and was set in motion after the Colorado Supreme Court announced Trump was ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, often referred to as the insurrectionist clause. Other blue states, including Illinois and Maine, followed suit but delayed implementing the ban until the Supreme Court ruled on Trump’s appeal.
Most notably, the 20-page opinion was written per curiam, meaning that the Supreme Court spoke with one voice. The opinion states, in part:
“We granted former President Trump’s petition for certiorari, which raised a single question: “Did the Colorado Supreme Court err in ordering President Trump excluded from the 2024 presidential primary ballot?” See 601 U. S. ___ (2024). Concluding that it did, we now reverse.”
The nine justices further noted: “We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency.”
In response to the decision, Trump posted on Truth Social: “BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!”
.
