Tracking the major 14th Amendment efforts to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot
Originally Published: 20 JAN 24 06:30 ET
Updated: 01 APR 24 10:47 ET
By Annette Choi and Marshall Cohen, CNN
(CNN) — Advocacy groups and critics of former President Donald Trump tried to remove him from the 2024 presidential ballot based on the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which says public officials who have “engaged in insurrection” are disqualified from ever serving again.
Three states — Colorado, Maine and Illinois — determined that this ban applies to Trump, because of his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection. Those three states decided to strip him from the Republican primary ballot, though those decisions were paused on appeal.
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Colorado case in February, and unanimously ruled in early March that Trump should remain on the ballot, because states don’t have the power to disqualify him from holding federal office.
Similar attempts to block Trump from the ballot last year fell flat last year in several other key states, where lawsuits were dismissed on procedural grounds and never reached the questions about Trump’s actions on January 6. This includes Minnesota, Michigan, Oregon, Arizona, and elsewhere.
Each state has different rules for how challenges like these are adjudicated. Some begin in the state courts, while others are first handled by state election officials, like a secretary of state.
CNN has been tracking the major decisions on Trump’s eligibility. Most of the major challenges were initiated by well-funded advocacy groups with the backing of seasoned constitutional scholars.
There has also been a flurry of minor lawsuits, often brought by individuals without attorneys, or who lack standing, or who filed in courts without jurisdiction. CNN is not tracking these cases.
Here’s where the major anti-Trump ballot challenges stand across the United States.
The-CNN-Wire
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