Former President Donald Trump and the Colorado GOP have been unsuccessful in their attempts to halt a lawsuit aiming to prevent Trump from running on the 2024 presidential ballot in the state.
The lawsuit is based on the 14th Amendment’s ban on allowing insurrectionists to hold public office.
Judge Sarah Wallace issued multiple rulings denying Trump’s requests. This development has added to the challenges that the former president faces in several states due to his involvement in the January 6 Capitol riot.
While he still has an outstanding motion to dismiss the Colorado case, it appears that the trial is now set to take place this month.
The 14th Amendment, established after the Civil War, prohibits federal officials who have pledged to protect the Constitution from holding future positions if they were involved in an insurrection or provided support to those who participated in one.
The Constitution does not specify a method for enforcing this restriction, and it has only been used on two occasions since the 1800s.
This Colorado case was filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal group representing six Republican and unaffiliated voters. It is scheduled for a trial beginning on October 30, and it aims to explore how the 14th Amendment might apply to Trump, introducing several novel legal questions.
Despite Trump’s objections that the case was flawed and should be dismissed, Judge Wallace dismissed his arguments in a 24-page ruling.
According to Wallace, the matter of whether Jena Griswold, the secretary of state of Colorado, can prevent Trump from being included in the ballot based on the 14th Amendment is a crucial issue that should be settled during a trial.
The judge further dismissed the claims of the Colorado GOP that the party, not the election officials, has the final say in determining the candidates included in the ballot.
