The Colorado Supreme Court recently voted to block Donald Trump from the presidential ballot by claiming his ineligibility. While there are many knee-jerk reactions to this, and headlines running around
They cited Amendment 14, Section Three which says this
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.
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/14th-amendment
So Colorado is claiming that Trump was engaging in insurrection or rebellion. This naturally falls back to the debate on whether or not Trump was a direct participant of January 6th, so there’s really not much to predict here. Colorado did leave the decision open to allow for Trump to appeal the decision, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens there.
As we get more news, I’ll update this page with more sources and insight.
Social Media Reactions
Naturally, social media is blowing up about this. Many fans of Trump are calling this unconstitutional, while others who are very against Trump are celebrating this decision. A surprising number of people are acknowledging that this is likely means nothing in the long term, and that its really too early to make any calls until we see an appeal.
Just remember that social media rewards sensationalism, and if some headline or post is making large emotional claims, its probably best to take what they say with a grain of salt.
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Update 12/29/23
Well, Colorado has backed out but Maine seems to want to jump in, with their Secretary of State ruling Trump ineligible. It’s important to note that we’re still waiting on a decision from the Supreme Court, so I wouldn’t react too quickly now.