Colorado usurped federal court authority in dumping former President Donald Trump from the Republican presidential primary ballot, according to an amicus brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The brief, filed by attorneys for election integrity organizations in Michigan and Wisconsin, argues that the U.S. Constitution and federal law limit states’ authority to disqualify a candidate, powers expressly given to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia — and only after an election.
Erick Kaardal, representing the Wisconsin Voter Alliance, Pure Integrity Michigan Elections, and Michigan Fair Elections, says Trump-aligned attorneys have failed to raise the issue in their appeals before the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear oral arguments Thursday on the Colorado Supreme Court’s suspect ruling. He says the left has already signaled its interest in challenging Trump’s eligibility in the D.C. court, should Trump be elected in November, but he insists the Supreme Court would be loathe to upend the will of the people and turn out a president-elect.
A Question of Jurisdiction
While Trump’s attorneys and others in support of the former president rightly argue the Colorado court made “a slew of legal errors,” the brief filed by the election integrity groups argues there is also a jurisdictional problem. The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision allowing Trump to be tossed from the state’s ballot violates the U.S. Constitution’s Electors Clause, according to the brief.
“In summary, under the Electors Clause, a state running a statewide presidential election, primary or general election, is preempted from excluding
