Several far-left groups have begun claiming, with little to no evidence, that they can legally exclude former President Donald Trump from the ballot in 2024 by using the Constitution’s “insurrection clause.”
According to the Associated Press, such advocates point to the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone from office if they “engaged” in “insurrection or rebellion” against the government. This clause, added to the Constitution following the Civil War, has been cited by progressives who believe that the peaceful protests at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021 were an example of “insurrection” allegedly caused by President Trump.
At least two left-wing nonprofits have already vowed lawsuits in the event that Trump’s name be placed on the ballot, and such a process would most likely go through several appeals until it ends up before the Supreme Court.
“There’s a very real prospect these cases will be active during the primaries,” said Gerard Magliocca, a law professor at Indiana University. Magliocca added that there could be different decisions in different states, significantly altering the primary and general election process: “Imagine you have an opinion that says he’s not eligible and then there’s another primary where he’s on the ballot.”
The Republican primary season is set to begin on January 15th, with the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses. President Trump currently leads his opponents in Iowa by over 20%, and holds a lead of roughly 40% in national primary polling.
In an article set to be published by the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, two ostensibly “conservative” law professors – William Baude and Michael Paulsen – claim that President Trump is already disqualified from running for-reelection by the 14th Amendment.
“Taking Section Three seriously means excluding from present or future office those who sought to subvert lawful government authority under the Constitution in the aftermath of the 2020 election,” the pair write.
In the actual Constitution, however, there are only two conditions that one must meet in order to be President of the United States: They must be a U.S. citizen by birth, and they must be at or above the age of 35. The only course of action that can exclude someone from the office is impeachment, conviction, and removal from office by Congress. President Trump was impeached twice but acquitted both times.