Colorado secretary of state, watchdog group urge fast action from Supreme Court in Trump case

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) urged the U.S. Supreme Court to make a speedy decision on a state Supreme Court ruling striking former President Trump from the ballot in the state,

In a Thursday statement, Griswold urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the lower-court ruling, issued earlier in December, noting that Trump will remain on the ballot unless the high court upholds the decision by Jan. 5.

The state Supreme Court determined Trump was ineligible due to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, particularly the events of Jan. 6, 2021, under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

That provision bars people who have taken an oath of office to serve a federal or state position from being president, vice president or a member of Congress if they “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S.

The Colorado Republican Party has since appealed the decision, which Griswold said requires Trump to remain on the ballot unless the U.S. Supreme Court affirms the ruling in time for certification on Jan. 5.

Trump, who is also a defendant in the case along with the state GOP, has also vowed to appeal the ruling.

“Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and was disqualified under the Constitution from the Colorado Ballot. The Colorado Supreme Court got it right,” Griswold said in a statement. “This decision is now being appealed. I urge the U.S. Supreme Court to act quickly given the upcoming presidential primary election.”  

The watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which brought the initial lawsuit on behalf of six Republican and independent Colorado voters, also urged an expedited decision Thursday.

“The Colorado Republican Party’s appeal of our clients’ case will address an issue of exceptional national importance — whether, as the Colorado Supreme Court found, a former president, and current candidate for office, who has engaged in insurrection against the Constitution is disqualified from holding office again,” Sean Grimsley of Olson Grimsley Kawanabe Hinchcliff & Murray LLC, said in a statement.

In its appeal Wednesday, the Colorado GOP wrote that if the ruling is not overturned, “any voter will have the power to sue to disqualify any political candidate, in Colorado or in any other jurisdiction that follows its lead.”