Michigan Supreme Court Denies Attempt to Disqualify Ballots in Trump Election Case

Michigan's supreme court has declined to hear an appeal made by voters in the state who were aiming to disqualify Donald Trump from next year's presidential primary. The voters argued that Trump's involvement in the 2021 Capitol riots should disqualify him based on a clause in the US Constitution. Last week, Colorado became the first state to rule that Trump was ineligible to run for president. Michigan, considered a crucial state in the 2024 general election, voted for Trump in 2016 but supported Joe Biden in 2020. The lawsuit was filed by pro-democracy group Free Speech for People in September, but it was quickly rejected, and the appeal was deemed unlikely to succeed. Unlike in Colorado, the Michigan courts dismissed the case on procedural grounds without examining whether the events on January 6, 2021, constituted an insurrection or if Trump played a role in it. Supreme Court justice Elizabeth Welch noted that Michigan's laws differ from those in Colorado, stating that there is no similar requirement in Michigan Election Law for presidential candidates to attest to their legal qualifications. The Colorado decision, which only applies to the state primary on March 5, does not prevent Trump from running in other states. It is the first time that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate. This amendment was ratified after the American Civil War to prevent secessionists from regaining government positions after southern states rejoined the Union. The Colorado decision is currently on hold until an appeal in January. Similar efforts to remove Trump from the ballot in New Hampshire and Minnesota have also failed.