The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear appeals related to a judge’s ruling against an effort to keep former President Donald Trump off the state’s ballot in 2024.
The appeals were filed by both Trump and the Colorado voters arguing he’s ineligible to hold office. Trump took issue with the state judge finding that he “engaged in insurrection,” while the voters disagreed with the ruling that the constitutional clause on ineligibility does not apply to the presidency.
The Supreme Court’s decision to take up the appeals comes days after state Judge Sarah B. Wallace dismissed a legal challenge brought by a group of Colorado voters represented by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington that argued Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his conduct surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, making him ineligible for office.
In her ruling Friday, Wallace found that Trump “engaged in insurrection” but said the Constitution’s ban on insurrectionists holding office did not apply to Trump because the clause in question explicitly lists all federal elected positions except the president.
Sean Grimsley, an attorney for the group of voters who filed the legal challenge, welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to take up the appeal.
“We look forward to presenting arguments on the one legal question at issue — that an insurrectionist former president can and must be disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” Grimsley said in a statement.
An attorney for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.
Oral arguments before the Supreme Court are scheduled for Dec. 6 in Denver, a month before Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold must certify ballots for the state’s March 5 primary.
Last week’s ruling in Colorado came on the heels of courts in Minnesota and Michigan rejecting similar legal efforts to disqualify Trump from running for president in those states. Petitioners in Michigan have filed an appeal with the state’s Supreme Court.