When Coloradans cast their votes for president in 2024, our ballots should include only constitutionally qualified candidates. Donald Trump disqualified himself under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment by engaging in an insurrection against the constitutional transfer of power after the 2020 election.
That is why we are representing six Colorado voters – four Republicans and two unaffiliated – who are suing Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold to refrain from taking any action that would place Trump on any Colorado ballot. As our state’s chief elections official, Secretary Griswold has a duty to ensure that the Constitution is upheld and ineligible candidates like Trump do not undermine our electoral process.
Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, also known as the Disqualification Clause, bars any person from holding office after they took an “oath…to support the Constitution of the United States” and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or gave “aid or comfort” to enemies of the Constitution. This provision is not a punishment, but rather, a qualification for any officeholder or candidate. It is no different than those spelled out in other parts of the Constitution such as age or citizenship.
Donald Trump took the presidential oath of office on January 20, 2017. He swore to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. Instead, he engaged in an elaborate scheme to overturn the results of a free and fair election and, for the first time in our nation’s history, attempted to use violence to block the counting of electoral votes and the peaceful transfer of presidential power.
For months, Trump spread disinformation about the validity of the 2020 election results. He advanced the “Big Lie” and fueled the “Stop the Steal” movement. He mobilized his supporters to travel from across the country to Washington D.C. for a “wild” protest that ultimately led to the Capitol attack. He aided that attack by failing to act for hours as his supporters mounted an insurrection on his behalf.
Trump put our country and Constitution in peril.
Secretaries of state, like Colorado’s Secretary Jena Griswold, have a key role in ensuring those who engaged in the January 6 insurrection are not permitted to run for an office in the government they tried to overthrow. Along with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and our co-counsel Eric Olson, Sean Grimsley, and Jason Murray, our lawsuit states that Secretary Griswold cannot take any action that would help put Trump on the ballot. Refusing ballot access to a candidate found to be ineligible is consistent with Secretary Griswold’s role and her oath of office to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
The rule of law is not a partisan issue. None of us — Republican, Democrat, unaffiliated, or other party affiliation — can let our democracy crumble under the weight of this moment. Trump disqualified himself from holding future office through his actions in the months, weeks, and days leading up to and through January 6, 2021. His repeated attacks on our democratic process, our free and fair elections, and calls for political violence brought us to the brink of a constitutional crisis and undermined the public’s faith in the electoral process. Trump’s ongoing candidacy represents an acute threat to the future and vitality of our democracy.
For nearly two decades as election law attorneys generally representing opposite political parties, we have argued against each other in court on multiple occasions. We have been on opposite sides of ballot access questions that set precedents for candidates in Colorado. We have rarely seen eye to eye on politics and interpretations of the law. But in this case, we agree and stand united in support of the Constitution and our democracy. We believe working together to enforce the Disqualification Clause is the best way to protect our country from irreparable harm.
We are proud to stand up for Colorado voters and the Constitution, working to ensure that an ineligible insurrectionist is not on the ballot next year.
We filed this lawsuit because a Colorado court can direct Secretary Griswold to refrain from taking actions that would violate the Constitution. Given evidence and proof including through witness testimony, a court can determine that Trump is not eligible to access our ballots. With this case, a court can uphold the Constitution. In court, we will demonstrate how the evidence and law create an overwhelming case to disqualify Trump.
The January 6th insurrection was a shameful day for our nation. Donald Trump incited that attack and he should not be granted another opportunity to serve in government. That starts here in Colorado and with Secretary Griswold enforcing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against him.
Martha Tierney practices election law and government relations with Tierney Lawrence Stiles, LLC in Denver, and serves as Chair of Common Cause. Mario Nicolais is an election law attorney at KBN Law, LLC. For the past 15 years, he has primarily represented conservative and Republican candidates and organizations. In 2020, he served as counsel for The Lincoln Project and writes a regular column about politics in The Colorado Sun.
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