In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that states do not have the authority to remove Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from the ballot in the November election.
The ruling by America’s highest judicial authority is a hard slap on the wrist of the court in Colorado that ruled in December that Trump was ineligible as a candidate for president. The Supreme Court’s ruling was also an implicit reprimand to the Secretary of State of Maine for her unilateral decision to remove Trump from the ballot.
By virtue of its unanimous decision, the Supreme Court has not only forcefully established its constitutional authority on who is eligible to run for president, but it has also drawn a firm line between state and federal jurisdictions.
The ruling by the court in Colorado was in effect an attempt by the state to usurp legal authority to decide on a federal crime, namely whether or not Trump had committed an insurrection against the U.S. government.
The Colorado case was questionable already on the grounds that Trump has never been convicted of insurrection (or anything else). With the Supreme Court’s decision, the state’s court was reminded of its jurisdictional limitations.
Colorado holds its Republican primary on Tuesday, March 5th, alongside 12 other state primaries and two state caucuses. Trump has the chance to win enough delegates on this ‘Super Tuesday’ to secure the Republican nomination for president.
