Democratic Secretaries of State Skeptical of Campaign to Block Trump from Ballots
The campaign to prevent former President Donald Trump from appearing on ballots is facing skepticism and doubts from Democratic secretaries of state across the nation. These officials question both the feasibility of employing untested legal theories and their own role in enforcing such measures.
Michigan Secretary of State Joceyn Benson, a Democrat
One leading figure in this debate is Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, who believes that the issue should ultimately be resolved by the United States Supreme Court. She asserts that, regardless of a secretary of state's actions, the final arbiter should be the nation's highest court. In her view, the responsibility falls outside her jurisdiction.
So far, attempts to keep Trump off the ballot are in their early stages, with the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) recently filing a lawsuit in Colorado state court to block his candidacy.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, also a Democrat, expressed her desire for clarity from the judiciary and acknowledged that the court will likely decide Trump's eligibility. Griswold refrained from asserting her own authority to make such determinations.
In response to the growing campaign, Trump and his supporters have mounted a defense, denouncing it as a politically motivated attack and accusing its proponents of distorting the law beyond recognition. Trump's spokesperson, Steven Cheung, likened the effort to Trump's prior legal battles and maintained that these tactics were merely a means of undermining the former president.
Trump's legal team has taken action to intervene in the Colorado lawsuit, initially requesting that the case be moved to federal courts, which could have expedited the path to the Supreme Court. However, they eventually acquiesced to the case remaining in state court for the time being.
As the battle to exclude Trump from future ballots unfolds, the uncertainty surrounding the legal theories and the involvement of secretaries of state raises questions about the feasibility and ultimate success of these efforts.