U.S. Supreme Court Accepts Colorado Trump Ballot Access Case

On January 5, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Trump v Anderson, 23-719.  Oral argument will be February 8.  Briefs on the side of Trump are due January 18; briefs for the people who wanted to keep him off the Colorado presidential primary ballot are due January 31; any reply briefs are due February 5.

There were actually two cases in the U.S. Supreme Court on this subject.  The first one was filed by the Colorado Republican Party, but a week later, when Trump filed his own case, it got its own separate docket number, so technically it is a separate case, and that is the case that the Court accepted.

Even though the case is being expedited, it is still not fast enough to change the Colorado Republican presidential primary ballots.  They will contain Trump’s name, because when the Colorado Supreme Court ruled against him, it stayed its decision pending action by the U.S. Supreme Court.  So the ballots will all have been printed with his name on them by the time the U.S. Supreme Court hears the case.  Trump’s name is now on all ballots except the Maine primary ballot (and in Nevada, Trump did not file for the government-administered primary because instead he is competing in the Republican caucus).

Florida Initiative on Abortion Collects 910,946 Valid Signatures, Enough to Qualify

A Florida initiative to legalize most abortions has 910,946 valid signatures, enough to qualify.  The law requires 891,523.  See this story.

For 2024, Florida requires more signatures for an initiative than any other state.  Close behind is a California initiative to change the constitution, which requires 874,641.

Some Massachusetts Voters Ask the State Ballot Law Commission to Remove Donald Trump from Ballot

On January 4, some Massachusetts voters asked the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission to remove former President Donald Trump from the Republican presidential primary ballot.  The primary is March 5.

The Ballot Law Commission has five members, three Democrats and two Republicans.  All were appointed by the Governor.

Public Interest Legal Foundation Amicus Says 14th Amendment, Section 3, is No Longer in Force

On January 4, the Public Interest Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Anderson v Griswold, the Colorado Trump ballot access case.  The lead argument is this amicus is that the 14th Amendment, Section 3, is no longer in force, because Congress in 1872 and again in 1898 passed “Amnesty Acts”.

Of course Congress can’t amend the Constitution all by itself, but the amicus says the portion of section 3 saying congress can “remove the disability” applies not only to past acts but future acts of insurrection as well.  This is an argument that hasn’t been made so far in the lower courts in Trump ballot access cases.  Read the amicus here.