Here's why Michigan might be the next state to remove Trump from the ballot
After the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump doesn't qualify for the 2024 ballots under the 14th Amendment's insurrection ban, speculation has begun about whether Michigan might make a similar move, reports show.
The Associated Press spoke with Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame's Law School, who explained the court's decision could make for a "major threat" to Trump's 2024 campaign.
"I think it may embolden other state courts or secretaries to act now that the bandage has been ripped off," he said.
The report notes Trump faces a similar challenge in Michigan from a group called Free Speech for People.
The group argues the former president's actions on Jan. 6, 2021 constituted insurrection by inciting a violent mob to attack the U.S. Capitol, a charge Trump has repeatedly denied.
"Our predecessors understood that oath-breaking insurrectionists will do it again, and worse, if allowed back into power, so they enacted the Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause to protect the republic from people like Trump," said Ron Fein, the nonpartisan group's legal director.
"Trump is legally barred from the ballot and election officials must follow this constitutional mandate.”
While the group lost their case in a lower court, they appealed Monday to the Michigan Supreme Court, which has four Democratic-leaning judges and three Republican ones. So, Michigan could very easily be the second state on the list, Muller contends.
“This is a major threat to Trump’s candidacy," he told the Associated press.
Minnesota was the first to have a case from Free Speech for People, but the state Supreme Court struck down the measure in November.