Supreme Court Resolves for Democracy in Trump v. Anderson Case - Republican Opinion by Alexander DiFalco

Trump v. Anderson 

Ever since the riot at the capitol on January 6th, 2021, former President Donald Trump has routinely been labeled by many of his detractors as an ‘insurrectionist’ and ‘threat to democracy’. Whether or not this claim has any basis in fact, it raised an interesting question, should state governments be allowed to bar presidential candidates from the ballot on the grounds of insurrection? Six voters from the state of Colorado thought the answer to that question was yes and filed a lawsuit in a Colorado District Court to remove Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot. The titular plaintiff of the case was former Republican Colorado Senate majority leader Norma Anderson. The plaintiffs argue that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment forbids Trump from appearing on the ballot because of his alleged participation in an insurrection on January 6th. 

“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

• Section 3 of the 14th Amendment

The Colorado District Court denied the plaintiff's petition, ruling that the 14th Amendment does not mention the presidency by name as an office that a person can be barred from. The District Court argued further that an ‘officer of the United States’ was not in reference to the president and that the 14th Amendment is non-applicable to the presidency. However, the Court agreed that Trump’s actions on January 6th constituted aiding/inciting an insurrection. The plaintiffs appealed the ruling to the Colorado Supreme Court in which a very controversial and problematic decision was reached.  

Colorado’s Decision

In a shocking 4-3 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed the ruling of the District Court, arguing the 14th Amendment is applicable to the presidency and that Trump’s actions on January 6th were grounds for barring his appearance on the ballot. The State Supreme Court also ruled that Trump’s speech to his crowd of supporters was not protected under the 1st Amendment. Lastly, the Court also stated that invoking this section of the 14th Amendment did not require congressional authorization. The Colorado Republican Party immediately appealed this decision to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court’s Decision 

In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court overturned the Colorado ruling. They concluded that Colorado could only remove candidates off the ballot for state offices and not federal offices like the presidency. The Court ruled that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment gave Congress alone the power to remove candidates from the ballot on the grounds of insurrection. In the case of state political offices like the State Senate, General Assembly, and governor, the government of that state could restrict certain candidates from the ballot. This power does not extend to federal offices like the presidency and exclusive authority to restrict federal offices lies with Congress. 

A Few Reactions

Both Democratic and Republican politicians condemned the efforts of Anderson and the plaintiffs in this case. Prominent Democratic Governor of California Gavin Newsom condemned his own state’s effort to remove Trump off the ballot saying that “in California, we defeat candidates at the polls. Everything else is a political distraction”. Entrepreneur and Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy threatened to withdraw from the Colorado primary if the decision stood. Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman called the move “incredibly unhelpful”, further stating that such legal actions make Trump “more popular and strong”. Trump himself said that the Supreme Court’s ruling on the case was a “Big win for America”. 

Victory for Democracy

I consider the ruling made by the Colorado Supreme Court to have been potentially dangerous and wholly irresponsible. Under their ruling, politically partisan state officials were granted the authority to remove the power of choice from the voters. If this ruling were to stand, enough precedent would be established to allow Republican & Democratic-dominated states to remove federal candidates of the opposing party from their ballots. I could envision in this scenario Republican states, as a form of retribution against Democratic state decisions, removing President Biden from the ballot for his alleged criminal activities and an arguable failure in carrying out the duties of the presidency. The political division currently pulling apart the country would be even more pronounced as particular political parties attempt to remove their opposition from the ballot. The Supreme Court’s reversal of this decision protected the rights of voters and prevented further political polarization. 

All Democrats in support of these legal actions completely lack principle and can no longer claim their political actions are in defense of democracy. The hyper-partisan Democratic officials in Colorado and other states that sought to remove Trump from their ballots are engaging in blatantly anti-democratic behavior. While many principled Democrats correctly condemned these anti-democratic efforts, the party as a whole has lost the right to lecture their political opposition on ‘defending democracy’. The truth is Donald Trump did nothing wrong on January 6th and his actions do not constitute that of an insurrectionist. His speech on that day was nothing out of the ordinary for a charismatic populist. He told his followers to continue their support for his movement and restated his belief in the illegitimacy of the 2020 election; he did not instruct his followers to stage an insurrection against the U.S. government. Ultimately, the Supreme Court made a decision that defended the rights of every voter in this country against the vendetta that some Democrats hold against former president Trump. Our right of choice in the political process must be defended at all costs and we are fortunate that the Supreme Court upheld that right.