WASHINGTON, DC – In response to yesterday evening’s decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court in Growe v. Simon, a case in which the Court considered whether Donald Trump should be allowed to appear as a candidate on the Minnesota primary ballot in light of his disqualification from office under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment, CAC Vice President Praveen Fernandes said:

Yesterday’s decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court, which concluded that Minnesota state law does not prevent Trump’s name from going on the primary ballot, says nothing about the substantive merits of the challenge brought by Minnesota voters.  As the Court explained this technicality of Minnesota law, “there is no state statute that prohibits a major political party from placing on the presidential nomination primary ballot, or sending delegates to the national convention supporting, a candidate who is ineligible to hold office.”

Significantly, the Minnesota Supreme Court made clear that Minnesota voters can renew their challenge to Trump’s name appearing on the general election ballot at the appropriate time.  And constitutional text and history make clear that Trump’s name should not appear on the general election ballot because he is disqualified from serving as president under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment.  The Framers of Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment were clear-eyed about the serious dangers posed to our democracy by permitting officers who engaged in insurrection to ever serve in office again. We should be similarly clear-eyed about those dangers.

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Resources:

Case page in Growe v. Simon: https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/growe-v-simon/

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Constitutional Accountability Center is a nonpartisan think tank and public interest law firm dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text, history, and values. Visit CAC’s website at www.theusconstitution.org.

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