In an order released Wednesday, the Michigan state Supreme Court rejected an attempt to have former President Trump disqualified from appearing on the primary ballot over the 14th Amendment’s insurrection ban.
According to the 14th Amendment: "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."
The top court’s decision comes after a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court, which is temporarily on hold, that kicked the former president off the ballot over his alleged role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
A liberal-leaning group had appealed a state appeals court ruling that concluded, regardless of whether the 14th Amendment disqualifies Trump from holding office, Michigan’s secretary of state lacks the legal authority to remove him from the ballot.
The state’s highest court, controlled by Democrats, let that lower ruling stand, saying in an unsigned order that it was “not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.”
The decision hands a legal victory for Trump as his lawyers seek to stave off 14th Amendment lawsuits filed across the country, aimed at preventing the former president’s return to the White House. (The Hill)
Justice Elizabeth Welch highlighted in a solo dissent that “Colorado’s election laws differ from Michigan’s laws in a material way that is directly relevant to why the appellants in this case are not entitled to the relief they seek concerning the presidential primary election in Michigan.”
In Colorado, participation in the primary is limited to “qualified” candidates which is determined through the “statement of intent.”
“The appellants have identified no analogous provision in the Michigan Election Law that requires someone seeking the office of President of the United States to attest to their legal qualification to hold the office,” she added.
Other efforts to disqualify the 45th president from the primary ballot are taking place in Texas, Wisconsin, and Nevada, according to Fox News.
Trump issued the following statement on Truth Social responding to the ruling:
"The Michigan Supreme Court has strongly and rightfully denied the Desperate Democrat attempt to take the leading Candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election, me, off the ballot in the Great State of Michigan. This pathetic gambit to rig the Election has failed all across the Country, including in States that have historically leaned heavily toward the Democrats. Colorado is the only State to have fallen prey to the scheme. That 4-3 Colorado Supreme Court decision, which they themselves stayed, thus keeping me on the ballot as we go up to the U.S. Supreme Court, is being ridiculed and mocked all over the World. We have to prevent the 2024 Election from being Rigged and Stolen like they stole 2020 - just look at the complete mess we have as a result with Crooked Joe Biden violently destroying everything in his sight, from our once-great Economy to our once-fair Justice System. We have to save our Country from decline and the Radical Left. Make America Great Again!"