Utah A.G. joins states asking U.S. Supreme Court to review Trump Colorado ballot decision

Utah’s Sean Reyes joined dozens of other Republican attorneys general in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a recent ruling that barred former President Donald Trump from being on the Colorado ballot. 

The Colorado Supreme Court in December found Trump ineligible because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The court cited the 14th Amendment, which restricts anyone who swore an oath to support the U.S. Constitution, then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion,” from holding office. 

On Jan. 5 an amicus brief was submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, presenting the question: “Did the Colorado Supreme Court err in ordering President Trump excluded from the 2024 presidential primary ballot?” The court agreed to review the case that day. 

The brief was spearheaded by attorneys general in Indiana and West Virginia and signed by 24 other states including Utah. Republican leaders of the Arizona Legislature also signed onto the brief.

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in the case on Feb. 8. 

In the brief, attorneys general accuse the Colorado Supreme Court of showing “no restraint” in wading into a highly partisan debate and argue the decision “threatens to throw the 2024 presidential election into chaos.” 

“Confidence in the integrity of our electoral processes is essential to the functioning of our participatory democracy,” the brief states. “If the Colorado decision stands, that critical confidence will be harmed. Many Americans will become convinced that a few partisan actors have contrived to take a political decision out of ordinary voters’ hands.”  

The attorneys general also argue the 14th Amendment should be enforced by Congress and that the Supreme Court should step in to “erase a standardless political judgment about what constitutes ‘insurrection.’”

In addition to Utah, Indiana, West Virginia and Arizona lawmakers, the brief was signed by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming.