Courts & Litigation Criminal Justice & the Rule of Law

Supreme Court Keeps Trump on the Colorado Ballot

Hyemin Han
Monday, March 4, 2024, 10:11 AM

In a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that the Colorado Supreme Court erred in removing former President Donald Trump from the state's presidential primary ballot.

Published by The Lawfare Institute
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On March 4, the Supreme Court ruled that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment could not be used to remove former President Donald Trump from Colorado's presidential primary ballot without further Congressional action. In a per curiam opinion, the Court writes that "the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates"—and for that reason, it reverses the Colorado Supreme Court's decision. 

The decision is unanimous. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson have issued a concurring joint opinion, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett has issued a separate opinion as well.

You can read the ruling here or below.


Hyemin Han is a J.D. candidate at Yale Law School. She was previously an associate editor at Lawfare and an eviction defense paralegal in Boston. She holds a BA in government from Dartmouth College.

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