Wisconsin Lawsuits to Kick Trump Off Ballot Dismissed
US Supreme Court ruling declared states lack authority to disqualify Trump.
Official portrait of President Donald J. Trump, Friday, October 6, 2017. Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead. Photo is in the Public Domain.
Two lawsuits seeking to kick former President Donald Trump off Wisconsin ballots were dismissed this week in the wake of a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.
On Monday, justices rejected an attempt to disqualify Trump from the Colorado primary ballot because of his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. The unanimous Supreme Court decision came a day before Super Tuesday primary elections happening in Colorado and other states.
It also ended similar attempts to knock Trump off the ballot in Wisconsin, prompting Dane County judges to dismiss two lawsuits Monday.
One suit was filed in January by Kirk Bangstad, a liberal activist and owner of Minocqua Brewing Company. The other was filed in August by John Anthony Castro, a Texas resident and longshot Republican candidate who’s filed similar challenges across the country.
The legal arguments for disqualifying Trump pointed to Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which bars anyone who’s previously taken the oath of office from holding public office if they’ve engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” against the United States.
But this week, a majority of justices concluded that Congress, rather than the states, is responsible for enforcing that provision against federal officeholders and candidates.
Wisconsin’s presidential primary is April 2. Trump is one of is one of six Republicans who will appear on Wisconsin’s ballot along with President Joe Biden and Minnesota U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips for Democrats.
Wisconsin lawsuits to kick Trump off ballot dismissed after US Supreme Court ruling was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Our gutless Supreme Court has rendered Section 3 of the 14th Amendment virtually useless for this and all future presidential races. Therefore, the only way to render people like Trump useless is at the ballot box.
It seems that many people are none too pleased with the candidates from which they can choose this year. But the only way to keep Trump and his cronies from destroying the very fabric of our democracy is to vote, either for Biden or against Trump. Not voting is totally unacceptable and cannot be considered an option for anyone.