Trump’s ballot battle: States that could follow Colorado’s lead and try to block former president in 2024

Former President Donald Trump was ruled ineligible to be president under the 14th Amendment by the Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday, but Colorado may not be the last state to rule against Trump.

With several lawsuits from liberal groups and an expected appeal from the Trump campaign to the Supreme Court on the Colorado ruling, the former president’s eligibility for the 2024 ballot is far from a settled matter. Here are the other states where legal challenges regarding Trump’s eligibility could threaten his chances of appearing on the 2024 ballot.

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Michigan

Liberal group Free Speech for People argued that Trump is ineligible under the 14th Amendment, alleging his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot amounted to an “insurrection.” An appeals court in Michigan ruled that the GOP can place whomever it wishes on the primary ballot, regardless of whether he or she is eligible for president.

The group has appealed the ruling, which deals with his eligibility for the GOP presidential primary, to the Michigan Supreme Court. Michigan is a key swing state for the 2024 general election and is one of the earlier states on the Republican presidential primary calendar.

Minnesota

A challenge to Trump’s eligibility, also brought by Free Speech for People, had attempted to prevent Trump from appearing on the ballot for the Republican primary. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled against the liberal group but left the door open for the former president to be disqualified from the general election ballot.

“We conclude that petitioners have standing and that their claims are ripe as to the issue of whether former President Trump should be excluded from the 2024 Republican presidential nomination primary,” the court wrote its opinion. “We reach a different conclusion regarding petitioners’ claim that it would be error for the Secretary of State to place former President Trump’s name on the ballot for the 2024 general election ballot.”

The court ruled that because the primary does not elect a president but rather allocates delegates for the party convention, Trump’s eligibility for the presidency does not prevent him from appearing on a primary ballot.

Other states

Several other states have pending lawsuits that have yet to progress as far as challenges in Michigan, Minnesota, and Colorado. Lawsuits filed in Wisconsin, Oregon, Virginia, New Mexico, and New York, among others, are pending a decision.

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Courts in Florida, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island have already thrown out 14th Amendment challenges against Trump’s eligibility.

The Supreme Court has never ruled on the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment, but whichever way the high court rules, the decision will play a major role in how many of the legal challenges across the country will end up.