The ongoing discussion around former President Donald Trump's eligibility for the 2024 election continues to escalate, with opponents and legal experts scrutinizing the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause as a potential barrier to his candidacy. According to a Chicago Tribune article, several lawsuits have been filed in state courts such as Colorado and Minnesota in an attempt to keep Trump off next year's election ballots.
Initially viewed as a longshot by liberal groups, this approach has since gained traction as some leading conservative law professors, including William Baude of the University of Chicago and Michael Stokes Paulsen of the University of St. Thomas, align with the argument that the insurrection clause should disqualify Trump from seeking the presidency owing to his involvement in the January 6th, 2021 Capitol insurrection. However, other legal experts maintain that the issue is still rife with uncertainties and complexities, as evidenced by the different responses from various states such as Illinois.
As WGLT reports, the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868 following the Civil War. Section 3 of the amendment addresses insurrection or rebellion against the United States and disqualifies individuals from holding office if they engage in such acts. Though rarely invoked, the insurrection clause has resurfaced in recent years due to Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and the subsequent attack on the Capitol by his supporters on January 6th, 2021.
While legal scholars and voters' rights advocates argue that the clause should render Trump ineligible for the ballot, implementing such a move remains controversial and is likely to encounter resistance. Similar challenges against other prominent Republican members of Congress over their involvement in the insurrection have not been successful, casting doubt on the likelihood of successfully applying the provision against Trump. This ongoing debate has resulted in a divide among states, with some election administrators, such as those in Michigan, New Hampshire, and Georgia, vowing to include Trump's name on the ballot unless a court decides otherwise.
Though Trump has not been charged with or convicted of insurrection, legal scholars such as James Gardner of the University at Buffalo School of Law argue that a conviction is not a prerequisite for invoking the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause. Gardner, like other experts, believes that the Supreme Court should address the issue for the upcoming election cycle to prevent disparities in individual state rulings.
