Insurrection allegations
Donald Trump should also disappear from the ballot in these 14 states
The candidate and his fans: Donald Trump at a campaign appearance in South Dakota in September
© Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP
After Colorado, Donald Trump has now also been removed from the Republican primary list in Maine. MMore than a dozen other states are now trying to get rid of the ex-president in this way.
Did Donald Trump incite an “insurrection”?
Maine, where the conservatives have no chance of winning a majority, is the second state after Colorado to exclude the former head of state from the upcoming primaries in this way. The Supreme Court recently had it there also argued with the 14th US Constitutional Amendment (Read more here), according to which people who have incited an “insurrection” against the constitution are to be excluded from election to public office.
However, the judges suspended their own judgment to await a fundamental decision from the Supreme Court in Washington. In Michigan, on the other hand, a court rejected a similar attempt, but for formal reasons and not for substantive reasons. There, as well as in Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, Trump remains on the ballot for his party’s primary. republican Maine and Colorado vote on their candidate on March 5th, Super Tuesday, and Michigan a week earlier.
Is Trump’s favorite status now changing?
The US area code system begins in mid-January and lasts until early summer. Each party in each of the 50 states votes on which of its candidates will run for the US presidency. Among the Democrats, incumbent Joe Biden is considered established, while among the Republicans Donald Trump is the undisputed leader of the field of candidates. His election was previously considered almost certain.
Ex-president under pressure
Trump still has to defend himself against these lawsuits
It is unlikely that removing one name or another from the list of names will change Trump’s favorite status, but it is still unclear. Attempts to have the former president removed from the primary election lists are currently underway in 14 other states: Arizona, Alaska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The “swing states” will be decisive in the election
Due to the de facto two-party system in the USA, the election results in many states are often determined long before the actual vote. Just as New York would never elect a Republican to the White House, a Democrat has no chance in Texas. The vote will therefore be decided in a few states with swing voters, the so-called swing states. Next year these will certainly include Arizona and Wisconsin, and perhaps Nevada. If Donald Trump is not allowed to stand for election here, it will likely significantly weaken his chances.
Whether this happens depends largely on the US Supreme Court. Cases involving the ex-president are already piling up there. Most recently, the nine judges referred the question of whether Trump enjoyed immunity as head of state back to the federal courts. For the Republican, the non-decision was a success, as a lot of time will pass before the final clarification is made, during which he will not have to fear a lawsuit.
Bad memory of 2000
In the electoral list appeal, the top judges will have to decide on several questions: whether an “insurrection” actually took place on January 6, 2021, whether Trump’s behavior violated the 14th Constitution and whether the exclusion from the primaries was justified is.
Legal experts believe the Supreme Court will overturn rulings like Colorado’s, especially when the primary election is already underway. “I assume that the judges want to avoid any appearance of overturning the election results with their decisions,” says law professor Jessica Levinson. I still have bad memories of the presidential election in 2000, when the constitutional judges stopped the recount in Florida and thus made George W. Bush the winner.
Sources: “New York Times“, 270towin“Newsweek“, DPA, AFP, Reuters