Colorado Voters Who Sued to Keep Trump off the GOP Primary Ballot Are Asking SCOTUS to Step in, Quickly

By Jennifer Van Laar | 6:40 PM on January 02, 2024

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The group of six Colorado voters who sued to keep Donald Trump off the state's Republican presidential primary ballot have asked the United States Supreme Court to "expedite consideration" of the Colorado Republican Party's petition for a writ of certiorari in the case, and to expedite the briefing and hearing schedule if that petition is granted.

As we reported, the Colorado Republican Party, which was an intervenor in the case in the state courts, filed its petition with the Supreme Court on December 27. That petition was accompanied by a motion asking SCOTUS to expedite consideration of the motion and also to expedite the timing of briefing/arguments if the motion is granted. That action/appeal by the Colorado GOP meant that the stay issued by the Colorado Supreme Court in the case would extend past January 4 and until such time as SCOTUS either declines to hear the case or all appeals are exhausted -- and that Trump's name would remain on the ballot.

The next day the group of voters filed a response to the Colorado GOP's motion, asking SCOTUS to issue an even more expedited briefing/hearing schedule in the case than the Colorado GOP proposed -- again, assuming SCOTUS grants the petition. They'd like a final decision in the case by February 11, the day before ballots are mailed to Colorado voters.

"Whether the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a former President (and current presidential primary front-runner) who engaged in insurrection against the Constitution from holding office again is a question of paramount national importance. Because 2024 presidential primary elections are imminent, there is no time or need to let these issues percolate further.
. . .
"Petitioner requests a schedule that would have this Court issue a decision before the presidential primaries on Super Tuesday, March 5, 2023. However, voting in Colorado happens mostly by mail and will begin for in-state residents once the ballots are mailed out on February 12. Additionally, significant primaries will take place in other states between February 12 and March 5. Petitioners therefore propose a schedule that will allow for briefing and argument in time for a decision by February 11, so that voters in Colorado and elsewhere will know whether Trump is disqualified before they cast their ballots."

People on all sides of this issue likely agree that the sooner the Supreme Court takes up the issue of eligibility, the better.