Recent events reveal that former President Donald Trump has hurled allegations at states considering the application of the 14th Amendment as a means to possibly bar him from the 2024 election ballot. He claims this maneuver is a ploy to unjustly give an edge to President Joe Biden in the forthcoming election.
Trump voiced his grievances on his Truth Social page on a recent Monday, as noted by The Washington Examiner, stating that this move by what he termed as the “Radical Left” factions, is another deceitful strategy to secure a victory for what he describes as the least capable and most dishonest president in the nation’s history.
The debate surrounding the 14th Amendment has intensified, with several individuals arguing that it prohibits someone who has pledged allegiance to the Constitution from holding public office again if they have participated in actions against the nation or supported its adversaries.
Prominent legal analysts William Baude and Michael Stokes, affiliated with the Federalist Society, outlined in a detailed 126-page document that the amendment indeed disqualifies Trump, and potentially others, due to their role in the alleged disruption of the 2020 electoral process, as highlighted by Newsweek.
Notable Democrats, including Senator Tim Kaine and Representative Adam Schiff, concur that the clause closely relates to Trump’s circumstances and is worthy of consideration in preventing his candidacy.
This argument has garnered momentum with recent legal actions initiated against Trump, prompting even members of his own party to consider measures to exclude him from future ballots. A civil rights group, Free Speech for People, has actively urged officials in several states to exclude the former leader from the ballots, a sentiment echoed by some Republicans in New Hampshire who are in discussions with the state’s Secretary of State, David Scanlan, on this matter.
Scanlan revealed that he is in the process of consulting with the attorney general and other legal advisors to reach a decision.
As this unfolds, Newsweek indicates a strong resolve among Trump’s followers to initiate a write-in campaign should he be omitted from state ballots.
Contributors to various platforms have expressed a firm intention to endorse Trump through write-in votes if he faces unwarranted exclusion from the ballot. This sentiment has been amplified by notable figures such as Amy Kremer, co-founder of Women for Trump, and Kandiss Taylor, who previously contested for the GOP Gubernatorial nomination in Georgia in 2022.
While the majority of states permit write-in votes during presidential elections, they usually necessitate that prospective candidates submit necessary documents to facilitate separate vote counting.
Legal expert Adam Kamenstein, now affiliated with the Adams, Duerk & Kamenstein law firm based in Los Angeles, shared with Newsweek that although the arguments relying on the 14th Amendment hold merit, achieving widespread consensus seems unlikely at present.
He emphasized that the actual application of legal theories hinges on universal acknowledgment of certain realities, a consensus which seems elusive currently, given the divergent political perspectives influencing perceptions of facts and truth. Even with a mutual understanding of the constitutional interpretation, agreeing on the pertinent facts remains a significant hurdle.
