By, Kathy Scott Six
January 29, 2024
As the attempts to prevent President Trump from winning or even running for President ramp up, some states are now going as far as declaring the right to remove a candidate's name from the ballot.
For instance, let’s look at the case in Colorado which has garnered the majority of attention. Why has Colorado been the case everyone is watching? There are two primary reasons. First, Colorado’s State Supreme Court ruled the decision as legal which forced the Trump team and their lawyers to take the matter before the Federal Supreme Court. Unlike other states such as Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, Colorado’s case was not dismissed. The case was filed by six voters, including Rep. Claudine Schneider who is a registered republican while endorsing Obama, Clinton, and Biden.
Clearly this is a cautionary tale of what one registers as, and how one chooses to spend their political capital. Claudine, out of touch with our current country's most pressing issues such as border security, the economy and conflicts in the world, has spent a great deal of energy on the democrats favorite talking point, climate change. And now her newest venture; aligning herself with the democratic agenda to get Trump off the ballot.
In addition, Colorado’s move occurred with a time constraint on the ballots printing and sending process. By filing on September 6th, the court's ruling at the state level and follow up appeal at the federal level put the timing to get his name on the ballots for mail outs impossible. The state will begin to mail out ballots for overseas votes on January 20th and February 12th while the ruling is not likely to occur until March. This calls into question whether they have the right to print the ballots without Trump's name since a federal ruling has yet to be determined. There is no doubt there will be a push from the dems to get those ballots printed without Trump as a choice, thereby making it a logistical nightmare to abide by a court decision to rescind and reprint ballots.
Maine has also brought this issue into the limelight when Secretary of State, Shane Bellows, made the decision for the state that Trump’s name should not be on the ballot. She filed her own personal lawsuit under the same premise as Colorado.
Bellows attempted to interpret the Constitution, Article XIV, by using the January 6th insurrection suit as evidence that Trump was not qualified. It didn’t seem to matter to Bellows that Trump has not been found guilty of any insurrection. Meanwhile, Senator Susan Collins of Maine pointed out that voters should make the decision of who should be on the ballot, not a Secretary of State appointed by the legislature.
Article XIV of the Constitution that is being quoted in every case that has come forth to remove President Trump’s name from the ballot states that…
It doesn’t take someone with a law degree to see how the people involved in attempting to remove his name are stretching the amendment to support their point of view. Rather than allowing the people to decide whether they prefer a candidate over another and how strongly they feel about Trump’s involvement or lack of involvement on January 6th, shows there is a clear desperation regarding the presidential election of 2024.
While the number of poll watchers and challengers has risen exponentially putting a squeeze on opportunities to cheat, other ways to defeat Trump are on the rise. We are fully aware of the numerous indictments that were meant to distract President Trump from campaigning. However, a huge blow emerged to their agenda when supporters rallied in even greater numbers.
So how does the removal of Trump from ballots affect his ability to win the Presidency? It all boils down to swing states. According to The Hill, states to watch are Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Wisconsin. Since Maine and Colorado have historically voted democrat, keeping Trump off the ballot will not likely have a big impact on the electoral votes needed to win. The removal of his name from the ballot, though, sets some serious concerns about legal precedence.
While we might decide the lawsuits and the call for Trump’s name being removed by Bellows as ignore-able events, when it comes to the outcome of the election, it is up to us as defenders of the Constitution to challenge these actions. We cannot allow a party or group to bully their way into power using illegal tactics. We are obligated to defend in action and word the Republic our Constitution stands for.
Kathy Six - Teacher with a Master’s Degree in Gifted and Talented Students. Community involved at her lifelong residence of Fruitport, Michigan. Married to her husband Scott for 40 years and has two married children and four grandchildren. Kathy loves to hunt, fish, playing softball, and reads everything and anything she can get her hands on.
