On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that Donald Trump would remain on the ballot not only in Colorado, but in all 50 states. In December, the state’s highest court attempted to invoke Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which is a Civil War-era law regarding “insurrection”.
Court Opinion
In the opinion issued in the name of the Court they wrote that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment “was designed to help ensure an enduring Union by preventing former Confederates from returning to power in the aftermath of the Civil War.”
The Court concluded that while states may use Section 3 to disqualify a candidate from holding or attempting to hold state office, “states have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency.”
The Court decided that no state can keep a President off the ballot on the grounds that they decide he is disqualified from holding federal office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. They are concerned it would “create a chaotic state-by-state patchwork at odds with our Nation’s federalism principles.”
Although every Justice concurred with the judgment, Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson protested the majority’s effort to use this case to define the limits of federal enforcement of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Super Tuesday
The decision was hastened due to Super Tuesday falling on March 5th in 16 states, removing uncertainty about whether or not votes for Trump would count.
Trump’s Lead
The former President is currently the Republican front-runner by a wide margin. An analysis of 29 national polls since the beginning of February reveals that the former President consistently holds a lead over Biden. Trump leads in 24 of the polls, with 3 ties and only 2 indicating Biden’s advantage. On average, Trump maintains a 2.6-point lead over Biden across all national polls.
The Exceptionalist 
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