A liberal group on Monday appealed a ruling keeping former President Donald Trump on the ballot to the Michigan Supreme Court, setting up the latest in a series of state high court showdowns over whether a rarely used constitutional clause prohibiting those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office bars him from a return to the presidency.
Free Speech For the People appealed last week’s ruling by the state court of appeals that the Republican Party can place whomever they want on the ballot for its presidential primary, regardless of whether they’re qualified for the office or not.
The move potentially places the future of Trump’s candidacy before yet another state supreme court. The Minnesota Supreme Court already kept Trump on the ballot, likewise saying the courts can’t strike candidates from the primary ballot and inviting the plaintiffs to try again in the general election. The Colorado Supreme Court is due to rule on an appeal of a Denver judge’s ruling that although Trump did “engage in insurrection” in the Jan 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists in office doesn’t apply to the presidency.
It’s possible one of the cases will end up at the U.S. Supreme Court, which has never ruled on Section 3. The provision was added to the Constitution after the Civil War to prevent former confederates from returning to their positions in government.
Dozens of lawsuits have been filed this year seeking to end Trump’s presidential candidacy. None have been successful.