Will the Constitution’s “insurrection ban” Keep Trump off the Ballot?

The States of Maine and Colorado have barred former President Donald Trump from competing in their state’s Republican presidential primary ballot. The challenges to Mr. Trump’s candidacy have been filed under Section 3, of the 14th Amendment, a provision that bans public officials who have engaged in “insurrection”, from holding public office. This provision was adopted in 1868, to prevent former members of the pro-slavery Confederacy, from serving in the U.S. Government. This particular section of the Constitution does not require a person actually be convicted of the crime of engaging in insurrection, but merely that a person “engaged in insurrection”. Mr. Trump and his allies have criticized these disqualification cases as undemocratic and part of a conspiracy by his political rivals to keep him out of office. Similar challenges to Mr. Trump’s eligibility have been filed in at least 12 states. It is expected that the U.S. Supreme Court will decide these challenges, as they present matters of great political importance and unsettled legal questions.