A Solution to the Trump Ballot Conundrum

null By Jed RubenfeldJan. 4, 2024 6:20 pm ETWonder Land: Since the Trump indictments have 'sucked out all the oxygen' from the primaries, Ron DeSantis was right to remind Iowa and New Hampshire voters that to get the job done requires a two term presidency. Images: AFP/Getty Images/AP/Reuters Composite: Mark KellyThe Colorado Supreme Court didn’t exactly get the law wrong when it ordered election officials to strike Donald Trump from the ballot. The problem is there was no law to get right.Almost no case law exists on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. On a clean judicial slate, judges are asked to decide whether the provision applies to the presidency, who has standing to sue, what counts as “engaging” in an insurrection, what kind of process is due and, most important, what counts as an “insurrection” in the first place. The Colorado justices themselves described the case as “uncharted.”Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8Sp

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Opinion Jan 5, 2024 Add to Reading List

A Solution to the Trump Ballot Conundrum

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Jed Rubenfeld

Jan. 4, 2024 6:20 pm ET

Wonder Land: Since the Trump indictments have 'sucked out all the oxygen' from the primaries, Ron DeSantis was right to remind Iowa and New Hampshire voters that to get the job done requires a two term presidency. Images: AFP/Getty Images/AP/Reuters Composite: Mark Kelly

The Colorado Supreme Court didn’t exactly get the law wrong when it ordered election officials to strike Donald Trump from the ballot. The problem is there was no law to get right.

Almost no case law exists on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. On a clean judicial slate, judges are asked to decide whether the provision applies to the presidency, who has standing to sue, what counts as “engaging” in an insurrection, what kind of process is due and, most important, what counts as an “insurrection” in the first place. The Colorado justices themselves described the case as “uncharted.”