Dispute over participation in the US primary election: Trump turns to the Supreme Court

Trump’s campaign team announced this on Wednesday (local time). With this step, Trump wants to overturn a decision by the highest court in Colorado, according to which he was disqualified from the primary election in the US state in 2021 because of his role in the storming of the Capitol. The move was expected.

An opinion from the Supreme Court in Washington was not initially available. On Tuesday it became known that Trump had appealed his exclusion from the primaries in Maine. The primaries for the November presidential election begin on January 15th.

Plaintiffs seek to have Trump’s name removed from ballots

Plaintiffs in various US states are currently trying to have Trump’s name removed from ballot papers for the presidential primaries on January 6, 2021 based on his behavior. At that time, Trump’s supporters violently stormed the Capitol in Washington – incited by a speech by the newly elected US President, who claimed without evidence that his victory against challenger Joe Biden had been stolen from him through massive fraud. Five people were killed and the images of the riots were burned into the collective memory of the USA.

Anyone who wants to run as a presidential candidate for the Republicans or Democrats must first prevail in the party’s internal primaries. In order to disqualify Trump from these primary races, his opponents are arguing with the so-called ban on insurrection in the 14th Amendment. Accordingly, no one may hold a higher office in the state who has previously taken part in an uprising against the state as an official. Although the passage mentions some examples of such higher offices, the office of president is not explicitly mentioned.

Lawsuits failed in Michigan and Minnesota

In US states such as Michigan and Minnesota, plaintiffs’ attempts to disqualify Trump failed. Decisions are still pending in other US states. Meanwhile, decisions against Trump were made in Maine and Colorado. However, the two decisions had been suspended for the time being pending Trump’s objection. It was assumed that the sensitive political question would ultimately end up before the US Supreme Court. On Wednesday, Trump’s campaign team announced that it had actually taken this step.

With the application to the US Supreme Court, Trump’s team wants to overturn the decision of the highest court in Colorado. It was an “un-American, unconstitutional act of election interference,” said Wednesday’s statement. The court ruled in December that Trump was not suitable for the office of president and therefore could not take part in the US state’s primary election. Trump had also previously appealed against a similar decision by the top election supervisor in Maine, but initially in a lower court.

According to US media, Trump’s lawyers are now arguing before the Supreme Court that the court in Colorado has exceeded its authority – the question of a president’s suitability is a matter for the US Congress and not for state courts. The constitutional amendment that the plaintiffs rely on is not applicable in Trump’s case. In addition to the ex-president, the American Center for Law and Justice has also filed an appeal against the court decision there on behalf of the Republican Party in Colorado.

Supreme Court could theoretically dismiss the question

The Supreme Court could theoretically dismiss the question. However, legal experts expect that the judges will take up the matter in order to avoid legal chaos in the election year. During his term in office, Trump shifted the majority on the court significantly to the right: to six of the nine seats. However, the Supreme Court did not always rule in his favor.

“I call on the court to review this case as quickly as possible,” commented the Colorado election minister, Jena Griswold, on X (formerly Twitter). Politicians close to Trump made similar statements. “The Supreme Court should immediately take up this case and overturn the court’s ridiculous decision in Colorado,” wrote Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley on X, for example.

Comparison with historical negotiation

The case in the USA is already being compared to the historic negotiations over the 2000 presidential election. At that time, the question was whether the votes in the crucial US state of Florida should be recounted. The Supreme Court declared the election over, making Republican George W. Bush president and Democrat Al Gore losing out.

Time is running out. The Republican primaries begin on January 15th with the first vote in the US state of Iowa. The Republican primaries in Colorado and Maine will take place on March 5th, the so-called Super Tuesday, when voting takes place in a number of US states. However, the ballot papers are printed some time in advance.

Trump wants to run for the Republicans again in November, and in polls he is far ahead of the field of Republican candidates. For the Democrats, Biden wants to run for a second term. He has no serious internal competition.

In addition to the legal dispute over his participation in the primaries, Trump also faces several major court proceedings in the coming months on various criminal charges – including the storming of the Capitol and his attempts to retroactively overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

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