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**Hugh** · 08-02-2024, 19:04

Quote:

The Supreme Court on Thursday seemed prepared to keep Donald Trump on the Colorado ballot, expressing deep concerns about the ability of a single state to disqualify a candidate from seeking national office. The indications from the justices came as they heard arguments on the unprecedented question of whether Trump should be barred from the ballot because of his actions around the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

The justices heard arguments Thursday on a ruling from Colorado’s top court that declared the leading Republican presidential candidate ineligible for a second term because of a post-Civil War provision of the U.S. Constitution that disqualifies insurrectionists.

 Justices from across the ideological spectrum warned of troubling political consequences if the Colorado ruling is not reversed.

Trump’s attorney argued that the Jan. 6 attack was a “riot,” not an insurrection, and said the constitutional provision in question does not apply to the president. He also argued that Congress would have to pass specific legislation authorizing states to bar candidates from the ballot. Some of the justices expressed skepticism toward those claims, suggesting that Trump’s lawyer was trying to parse the letter of the law beyond reason.

The justices’ questioning of the lawyer representing Colorado was far more pointed, however. Liberal and conservative justices alike warned that if Colorado had its way in declaring Trump ineligible, a single state could decide for the rest of the nation whether a presidential candidate is permitted to run. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said that would create an “unmanageable” situation…

… Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor and director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project, concluded that “there seemed to be very little support for Colorado’s side” among the justices. “One concern kept coming up: that there’s a federal interest in presidential elections, and having states being able to interfere could lead to a race to the bottom,” Hasen said. He said he expects a “lopsided ruling reversing Colorado,” with eight and perhaps all nine justices ruling to overturn the decision.

Seems a fair concern - since it’s for a national federal office, not state.