Weekly Spotlight: Dancing Around the Seriousness

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On Thursday, the Supreme Court justices heard arguments on whether former President Donald Trump’s involvement in the January 6, 2021, insurrection disqualifies him from appearing on Colorado state ballots, a case that could have implications for all states. A ruling from the Supreme Court affirming the applicability of the Constitution’s disqualification clause would protect the integrity of future elections by ensuring that government officials who engage in insurrection cannot hold a position of power in our government again.

It’s always hard to predict an outcome based on oral arguments. We’re disappointed, though, that the justices danced around the seriousness of allowing a candidate who has been found to have engaged in insurrection to remain on the presidential ballot. We can only hope that by focusing their questioning on technicalities, like the definitions of terms such as “officer” and what the Constitution says about state versus federal power, that they’re signaling there is no real doubt about the insurrection itself.

It’s essential that the Supreme Court ensures insurrectionists can no longer hold office. The justices are likely to release their ruling on Colorado in the coming weeks — we’ll keep you posted as we know more.

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