Republicans try to raise the bar for ballot challenges with Supreme Court

Senate Republicans are trying to make the United States Supreme Court the sole authority when it comes to deciding whether candidates can be removed from state ballots when they’re accused of violating section three of the 14th Amendment.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said he was trying to “calm the waters” with a new bill on Thursday, which would ban states from removing candidates from the ballots if they have not been convicted of violating the amendment, which bans people who have engaged in an insurrection from holding public office.

The bill is in response to recent decisions to remove former President Donald Trump from primary ballots in Colorado and Maine, alleging he violated the amendment with his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

“We’re seeing the games played. We’ve seen it in Colorado. We’ve seen it in Maine and other states,” Tillis told Fox News. “And I’ll guarantee you, when the situation is reversed, you will have Republicans doing this. We need to put this to bed.” 

The new legislation would block states from using federal funds to conduct elections in a state where an official tried to block a candidate from the ballot and ban state courts from deciding whether someone is eligible to run for office if they allegedly violated the amendment. 

A panel of three federal district court judges would instead gather the facts of the case to send to the Supreme Court, who would make the decision, according to the bill.

The new legislation is supported by Tillis ​​and Sens. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Rick Scott (R-FL), Ted Budd (R-NC), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). 

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It comes as Trump attempts to fight the Colorado Supreme Court ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court and Maine’s decision, made by its secretary of state, through the state’s superior court.

“[The decisions were] an abuse of power at the state level,” Tillis said. “It needs to end, and I believe our bill ends it.”

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