The lead story in the January 15 issue of The Militant, organ of the Socialist Workers Party, condemns attempts to prevent voters from voting for Donald Trump. See it here.
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On January 9, Professor Seth Barrett Tillman, who has studied the meaning of “Office of the United States” since 2008, submitted this interesting amicus in the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v Anderson. It argues that the President is a not person who “holds any office ” as the term “office” was used when the Constitution was written and also in 1868, when the 14th amendment was written.
Section 3 does not say that it applies to President or Vice-president, but many people assume it does apply because Section 3 applies to congress, presidential electors, and people who “hold any office” under the United States or any state.
Although Professor Tillman is a U.S. citizen, he currently lives and teaches in Ireland.
On January 9, the Maine Secretary of State determined that the Libertarian Party is now a qualified party. It needed 5,000 registered members and as of the January 2 deadline, it has at least 5,168. Some are still being processed so there will be more later.
The party is free to have a presidential primary if it wishes, but presidential candidates would need 1,000 signatures of registered Libertarians or registered independents.
On Monday, January 8, 2024, US District Court Judge Donald Nugent (Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division) ruled that Ohio’s voter identification laws do not severely burden Ohio’s voters and upheld their constitutionality.
Kennebec County Superior Court Judge Michaela Murphy has set oral arguments for Wednesday, January 17, in Trump v Bellows, augsc-at-24-01. However, former President Donald Trump filed a request on January 8 to postpone the argument until after the U.S. Supreme Court hears the somewhat similar Colorado case.
Maine’s Secretary of State, and the voters who challenged Trump in Maine, oppose the request to postpone the argument.