Former President Donald Trump appealed an Illinois court ruling barring him from the state’s primary election ballot on the grounds of the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause, while the Supreme Court is mulling a challenge that could upend dozens of similar ballot removal efforts against the former president.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Tracie Porter’s Wednesday evening order removing Trump from the ballot came with an automatic hold in anticipation of an appeal from the Republican presidential front-runner. The Supreme Court is weighing a similar dispute in Colorado to keep him off the ballot in that state over his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
A notice of appeal dated Wednesday requests the state appeals court to “reverse and vacate the judgement.” Trump’s lawyers also submitted a separate court filing asking the judge to clarify the length of the stay on her order or to enter an order pausing the judgment pending resolution in the case.
Porter, an elected Democrat, came to her determination by citing the Colorado Supreme Court’s 4-3 ruling to remove Trump from the ballot in the state, saying its rationale was compelling. Days after Colorado removed Trump on Dec. 19, 2023, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows made the decision on her own to remove the former president. Both of those decisions have been stayed pending the Supreme Court’s decision.
The pending ruling in the Colorado case that is now before the high court, which was argued on Feb. 8, could have implications for dozens of similar challenges seeking to keep Trump off of primary election ballots across the nation. So far, three states have ruled him ineligible to run for reelection under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which states that no one should hold office in the United States if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the [U.S.], or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Lawsuits against the former president’s access to state primary ballots have been brought primarily by voters represented by left-leaning groups, including the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, arguing that Trump violated Section 3 by calling his supporters to D.C. to protest the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory on Jan. 6, 2021.
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During Feb. 8 oral arguments, a majority of the Supreme Court seemed skeptical of allowing a handful of voters to remove Trump from primary ballots. It is unclear when the justices will issue their decision and if it will come before Tuesday, when dozens of states, including Colorado, will vote in primary elections.
If the Supreme Court does not rule before Tuesday, Trump will automatically appear on Colorado and Maine ballots because the lower court decision has been stayed in the interim. The Illinois primary election is slated for March 19.
