2023-12-27 15:32:00
(CNN) — The Michigan Supreme Court rejected an attempt to remove former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot over the U.S. Constitution’s “insurrection ban.”
The result, which was widely expected, contrasts with the Colorado Supreme Court’s recent ruling, which expelled Trump from its primary ballot for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. That decision was put on hold pending an appeal.
With these conflicting decisions, the long-awaited appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court become even more crucial, especially as the country approaches the 2024 primaries. Unlike Colorado, the Michigan demand It never came to trial and was dismissed early in the process. An intermediate appeals court upheld the decision to dismiss the case on procedural grounds.
The Michigan Court of Claims judge who first heard the case said state law gives election officials no leeway to police the eligibility of presidential primary candidates. He also said the case raised a political issue that should not be decided in court.
His decision was upheld by the Michigan Court of Appeals, which said: “At the moment, the only event that is about to occur is the presidential primary election. But, as has been explained, the fact that Trump is disqualified is irrelevant to their placement on that particular ballot.”
The Michigan Supreme Court order was unsigned, and the court did not make the vote count public.
Unlike Colorado, Michigan courts rejected the case solely on procedural grounds. They never got to the questions of whether January 6 was an insurrection and whether Trump participated in it.
One of Michigan’s judges wrote this Wednesday why Michigan is different from Colorado.
The anti-Trump challengers “did not identify any analogous provision in the Michigan Election Law that requires someone seeking the office of president of the United States to attest to his legal qualification to hold the office,” wrote Judge Elizabeth Welch, comparing the Michigan law with Colorado election code.
Ratified after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment says that officials sworn to uphold the Constitution are disqualified from holding future office if they “engage in an insurrection.” The provision was used to disqualify thousands of former Confederates. But it has only been applied twice since 1919, and its vague wording makes no mention of the presidency.
The Michigan lawsuit was filed in September by an advocacy organization, Free Speech For People, on behalf of a group of voters. He also unsuccessfully filed a 14th Amendment challenge against Trump in Minnesota, and recently filed a new case in Oregon. The Colorado lawsuit was brought by another liberal-leaning group.
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