What does Supreme Court Trump ballot ruling mean for 2024 Colorado primary voting on Tuesday?
The appeal of the landmark Colorado Supreme Court decision regarding Donald Trump and eligibility for the state's ballot is a success, but because of the timing of the high court ruling people may be wondering if votes for the former president in the 2024 Colorado presidential primary will still count.
The U.S. Supreme Court didn't issue their ruling stating that Trump is allowed on the ballot until Monday -- the day before the state's primary -- and many Republican voters have already cast their votes (because Colorado is a mail-ballot election state). Trump's name was among the candidates on the ballot despite the uncertainty in the courts. Had the appeal been unsuccessful, votes for Trump would not have counted. But now they will.
What the Supreme Court ruled on the Colorado Trump ballot case
The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. Anderson that Donald Trump is eligible to be on the Colorado ballot. The case focused on Trump's conduct during the Jan. 6 insurrection related to the 14th Amendment. It holds a clause -- Section 3 -- which bars those who have sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution from serving in government if they took part in insurrection. The nation's high court found that states lack the power to apply Section 3 to presidential candidates.
Why is Trump already on the 2024 Colorado primary ballot?
After the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling in December that Donald Trump was disqualified from the GOP primary ballot in 2024, there were questions about whether the former president's name would still be on the ballot in the Centennial State. But Colorado's high court announced with its ruling that it paused its decision with the expectation the U.S. Supreme Court would hear the case, and they announced they would before the deadline set by the Colorado Supreme Court. That meant that it was ensured Trump's name would remain listed until the U.S. Supreme Court took action. Because that didn't happen until this week, Trump's name has been on the ballot and will continue to be on it.
Colorado's secretary of state certified the statewide Republican ballot for the 2024 presidential primary election in January. As part of Colorado's mail ballot election process, Republican voters and Unaffiliated voters received Republican presidential ballots in the mail several weeks ago and Trump's name was on it.
What will voting for Trump in the 2024 Colorado primary do?
Republican and Unaffiliated voters in Colorado who vote for Donald Trump in the presidential primary will have those votes counted just like in any other election. Trump is hoping to become president for a second term after losing to Democrat Joe Biden in his re-election bid.
Trump is currently the leader among the GOP candidates vying to be the political party's nominee for president and on Super Tuesday the votes will be counted for Colorado and more than a dozen other states.
Will Trump be on the ballot in Colorado for the 2024 presidential election?
If Donald Trump's campaign for the Republican presidential election is a success, Trump will be on the ballot as the sole Republican choice in the 2024 general election. There's no reason at this point why the former president's name would not appear on the ballot in the general election in Colorado and across the country. The general election takes place in November, and in Colorado the ballots for that election will be mailed out many weeks ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5.
