Trump removal from ballot splits public: Survey

State-based efforts to remove former President Trump from 2024 ballots are dividing the public, a new survey found.

The poll, conducted by Marquette University Law School, found that among the respondents who had an opinion about the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove Trump from the ballot under the 14th Amendment, there is an even split among those who support it and those who oppose it.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case debating whether Trump should be removed for supporting the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. The justices appeared reluctant to take the step of disqualifying Trump.

Thirty-one percent of respondents said they “haven’t heard anything or haven’t heard enough to have an opinion” on the case. Of those with an opinion, 50 percent favor the Supreme Court overturning the Colorado court’s decision to disqualify Trump, while the remaining 50 percent are opposed to the high court overruling the state one.

The Supreme Court agreed to take up the case of Trump’s disqualification after the top court in Colorado ruled in December that he was ineligible to appear on the state’s primary ballot.

The 14th Amendment was originally designed to keep ex-Confederates from returning to power, but after the attack on the Capitol, anti-Trump voters filed lawsuits across the country seeking to prevent him from returning to the White House.

According to the survey, only 25 percent of respondents have a “great deal” of confidence in the Supreme Court, while 35 percent have some confident and 40 percent have little or no confidence.

The Supreme Court is hearing the case on an expedited timeline, which means a decision could come within weeks. Until then, Trump’s name will remain on ballots across the country.

He remains the GOP front-runner and is expected to face off this fall against President Biden.

The survey was conducted Feb. 5-15 among 1,003 adults. It has a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.