Supreme Court to Decide Trump Ballot Case on Monday

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is expected to make a ruling sometime on Monday regarding the highly-anticipated case of President Donald Trump’s eligibility for the presidential ballot, after Colorado and several other states have attempted to remove him over 14th Amendment concerns.

As reported by Just The News, the ruling was expected to be expedited due to the case’s significance regarding the 2024 presidential election, where Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination and, according to recent polls, the frontrunner for the general election. A ruling on Monday would mean that the matter is settled ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries the following day, where 15 states will cast their votes for president and other down-ballot races; Colorado is among the states voting Tuesday.

Last year, the Supreme Court of Colorado narrowly ruled that Trump was ineligible for the presidential ballot under the 14th Amendment due to his alleged role in the peaceful protest that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021, which some have falsely described as an “insurrection.” Two other states, Maine and Illinois, have similarly attempted to disqualify President Trump along the same lines. The Maine decision was made by the Secretary of State, while the Illinois ruling was made by a single judge. In all three cases, implementation of Trump’s ballot ban was delayed pending a decision from the Supreme Court.

While the Supreme Court never reveals which rulings it will hand down, the sudden announcement on Sunday that at least one ruling would be made on Monday led to widespread speculation that it was referring to the Colorado case, Trump v. Anderson, where oral arguments were heard back in February. No such arguments have yet been made regarding Maine or Illinois, although the decision in Anderson will have direct implications for those states, and any other states that may attempt to ban Trump on 14th Amendment grounds.

The 14th Amendment, enacted after the Civil War, bars people under Section 3 from serving as “officers of the United States” if they previously “engaged in insurrection.” The crux of the case against Trump focuses on two aspects: The first is whether or not Trump was truly guilty of inciting an insurrection with his remarks on that day, where he specifically told his supporters to “peacefully and patriotically make [their] voices heard” at the U.S. Capitol. The second aspect concerns whether the office of President of the United States qualifies as an “officer” and thus eligible for the 14th Amendment ban, or if the office of President is immune from these conditions since the authors of the amendment did not specifically include it in the text.