Former President Donald Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme court to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court's decision to bar him from the state's primary ballot.
Trump filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, arguing that voters should be able to select their next president. He added that the question of eligibility to serve as president is reserved for Congress, not the courts.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Dec. 19 that Trump is ineligible to appear on the state ballot, citing the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause. The amendment, which was ratified three years after the end of the Civil War, says that those who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the U.S. are disqualified from state or federal office.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, has repeatedly said that Trump's actions leading up to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, should disqualify him from the ballot.
Trump protested the results of the 2020 presidential election, which was won by Joe Biden. He held a rally in Washington, D.C., moments before his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol during the counting of Electoral College votes, disrupting the proceedings.
In the filing with the U.S. Supreme Court, Trump said he did not engage in an insurrection, insisting the events of Jan. 6 were not an insurrection.
Colorado's Republican primary election is scheduled for March 5. Trump's name will appear on the ballot because an appeal was filed, Griswold previously said. However, a decision by the Supreme Court could impact whether Trump's name appears on general election ballots across the country if he wins the Republican nomination for president.
"I urge the Court to consider this case as quickly as possible. Coloradans — and the American people — deserve clarity on whether someone who engaged in insurrection may run for the country's highest office," Griswold said.
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