He and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will be among the speakers.
4
COLORADO DECISION SHOWS HOW THE RIGHT TO VOTE FREELY HAS DECLINED SINCE THE 18th CENTURY
On December 19, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump cannot appear on the state’s Republican presidential primary ballot. Anderson v Griswold, 2023-CO-63. Furthermore, write-in votes for him cannot be counted.
The decision underscores the extent to which a voter’s right to vote for anyone he or she pleases has eroded since the United States became an independent nation. The basis for the decision is that Trump had previously signed an oath to support the Constitution and yet then engaged in insurrection. The Fourteenth Amendment, Section Three, bars such persons from holding office.
On January 25, U.S. District Court Judge Philip Brimmer, a Bush Jr. appointee, heard oral arguments in Colorado Republican Party v Griswold, 1:23cv-1948. The law requires all parties that have primaries to allow independent voters to vote in those primaries, unless the State Central Committee by a vote of 75% of the members authorizes the party to close the primary. Although a majority of the Republican Committee members want a closed primary, supporters of closing the primary have never been able to surmount the 75% threshold.
See this story about the argument.
Venezuela will hold a presidential election later in 2024. On January 26, the nation’s highest court upheld a ban on ballot acces for Maria Corina Machado, the nominee of the biggest opposition party. See this story.
On January 26, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was on the Smerconish show. He said he is mulling over whether to seek the Libertarian presidential nomination. See this story.