ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Supreme Court took a citizens’ case under advisement that former President Donald Trump can be barred from the 2024 Minnesota ballot. The case was brought by voters who argued that Insurrection Clause of the U.S. Constitution precludes Trump because of the mob violence he triggered against Congress in 2021. Similar suits are active in Colorado and other states. Trump’s attorney, Nicholas Nelson of Minneapolis, argued to the Minnesota court Thursday that a state’s role in determining a candidate’s eligibility for president is limited to “basic processing requirements” He cited the minimum age requirement, 35, as an example. Nelson suggested chaos if some states and not others kept a presidential candidate off their ballots. “The petitioners,” he said, “would like this to be a one-off case, but we are a 50-state democracy.” The state Supreme Court has taken the case on an expedited track because the 2024 presidential preference primary isonly four months away. During oral arguments Thursday, several justices that noted the constitution gives Congress the authority to certify presidential electors and to impeach and that such implies that the Founders saw eligibility as a federal issue. The constitution is silent on a state role. Chief Justice Natalie Hudson said the fundamental role belongs to Congress and not the states. She conceded that the question of a federal and state interrelation is troubling. Even so, she leaned toward “this As a national matter for Congress to decide.”
Earlier: Case to state Court: Keep Trump off 2024 ballot
Earlier: Simon: State won’t keep Trump off Minnesota ballot
Constitutional issue
Section Three of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars from office anyone who previously swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” against it. One issue is defining “insurrection.” Another s whether enforcement can be at the state level. The Constitution leaves balloting to the states. Unstated is whether this means a state can keep a national candidate, such as for the presidency, off its ballot.