After failing to make former President Trump the preferred candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination and failing to come up with a candidate to oppose him, Democrats are employing a new strategy.
State secretaries are responsible for authenticating the eligibility of candidates and tallying the ballots in their state. Yahoo News reports that two civil rights organizations have launched a campaign to compel state governments to prevent former President Trump from appearing on ballots in 2024.
The groups assert that the 14th Amendment empowers secretaries of state to prevent Trump from standing for office in light of the January 6, 2021 Capitol uprising. Trump’s disqualification as secretary of state would be unprecedented and would likely be challenged in court, but civil rights groups believe they have a chance despite their claim’s shaky premise.
The groups use the still-under-investigation alleged attempt by the former president in relation to the January 6 Capitol events. Despite the fact that the event occurred years ago, Trump has never been charged in connection with it. However, this does not deter Democrats.
Hill reporting:
Starting Sunday, Mi Familia Vota and Free Speech for People will stage a week of rallies and banner drops outside the offices of the Secretaries of State of California, Oregon, Colorado, and Georgia.
The organizations also sent a letter to Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar last month, urging him to block Trump based on the so-called Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause.
“We’re really focusing on Nevada and California and [Oregon, Colorado and Georgia] to make sure that they are taking a stand by disqualifying Trump in those spaces, which is something that the secretary of state can do,” said Héctor Sánchez, executive director of Mi Familia Vota.
The groups are launching their campaign on the 155th anniversary of the 14th Amendment with the slogan “Trump is Disqualified.”
The Hill has reached out for comment from the Trump campaign.
More on this story via The Republic Brief:
Trump has been indicted twice both times to no avail, and is under investigation in other cases, but the groups say those are not disqualifying facts under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. However, the groups believe Trump’s alleged role in the Jan. 6 insurrection — for which he is also under investigation — does fit the constitutional clause’s definitions. CONTINUE READING…