Legal Analysis of Trump’s Ballot Ban Supreme Court Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided 9-0 that President Donald Trump will remain on the ballot – a victory for the ACLJ and election integrity. The ACLJ represented the Colorado GOP at the U.S. Supreme Court after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause gave the state the authority to remove the former President from the Colorado ballot.

In their opinion, the Justices wrote: “We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency.” In other words, the 14th Amendment has been forever removed as an avenue to disqualify future presidential candidates from election ballots.

We celebrate this victory for election integrity – in this election and in elections to come. Future presidential candidates won’t have to worry about what this election cycle has entailed. No more state-by-state confusion about the right of Americans to vote for their preferred candidates – the constitutional republic remains intact.

I want to focus particularly on what Justice Amy Coney Barrett said in her concurring opinion: “For present purposes, our differences are far less important than our unanimity: All nine Justices agree on the outcome of this case. That is the message Americans should take home.” Her opinion is such an encouraging message to the American people that speaks to the unified voice coming from the Supreme Court.

Even the liberal Justices couldn’t deny what the Constitution says. Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson stated: “Allowing Colorado to [remove President Trump from the ballot] would, we agree, create a chaotic state-by-state patchwork, at odds with our Nation’s federalism principles. That is enough to resolve this case.” The Justices were focused on the chaos that would ensue, nullifying the votes of millions of Americans.

Today’s message from the Supreme Court is loud and clear. Naysayers can no longer argue that the Supreme Court is divided along partisan lines. It’s not a politicized institution.

All nine Justices agreed with the ACLJ’s arguments that no state has the constitutional authority to remove a federal candidate from a ballot based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. In fact, the opinion contains sections that are almost verbatim from what we argued in our brief to the Supreme Court. It’s a good feeling when the Justices use your arguments as the basis of their ruling.

I want to emphasize that the Justices issued a per curium opinion (“the Court is speaking”) – a unanimous decision.

ACLJ Senior Counsel Andy Ekonomou explained the significance of a per curium ruling:

[Per curium] is a Latin term that means “through the court.” It’s not authored by any particular Justice or the Chief Justice, but it’s put together by the input of all the Justices. And I think it gives it an added impetus, an added influence, and an added persuasiveness in that no one Justice has spoken and the Court was not divided. It was a unanimous decision, per curium, through all the Court.

I was somewhat concerned that the Justices would have a divided opinion based on the amount of time they were taking to issue their ruling. But really, it shows just how much time and effort they spent in getting this opinion right to settle the issue once and for all.

This is one of the most significant cases the ACLJ has ever handled, and we are pleased that the American electoral process will be preserved. Yet the battle for election integrity continues.

Three cases still remain where your right to vote is on the line. And we must quickly file to dismiss each case to ensure we defeat the Left’s “disqualification” plot for good. We are also planning to file an amicus brief in the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case regarding presidential immunity for President Trump.

As you know, the ACLJ was involved in numerous states fighting the far Left’s “disqualification” plot. We do all our legal work free of charge, which requires immense resources. We just launched our Life & Liberty Drive, and every donation is automatically doubled. Give today to support our efforts to defend election integrity.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included a full analysis of the ACLJ’s massive victory at the U.S. Supreme Court to defend your right to vote for the candidate of your choice. Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams also joined our show to celebrate the victory.

Watch the full broadcast below: