In a significant legal development, a Michigan judge on Tuesday dismissed a challenge aimed at preventing former President Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s ballot for the 2024 presidential election.
This ruling came as a response to a lawsuit filed by a group of Michigan voters in September, NBC News reported.
Critics argued that Trump’s actions in trying to overturn the 2020 election results and his role in the events of January 6, 2021, violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, allegedly disqualifying him from holding office.
“The Fourteenth Amendment arguments of plaintiffs present a political question that is nonjusticiable at the present time,” Judge James Robert Redford noted in his ruling.
Judge Redford also tated that under Michigan law, Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson lacks the authority to interfere in a primary election if a political party opts to list a candidate who may not qualify for the office.
“The ultimate decision is made by the respective political party, with the consent of the listed candidate,” the judge said.
Ron Fein, the attorney for the petitioners and legal director of Free Speech For People, expressed his intention to appeal the decision.
“While our appeal is pending, the trial court’s decision isn’t binding on any other court, and we continue our current and planned legal actions in other states to enforce Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment against Donald Trump,” Fein said.
This ruling in Michigan mirrors a recent decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court, which also dismissed a similar effort to keep Trump off the state’s primary ballot in 2024.
Minnesota’s high court held a hearing last Thursday on whether Trump could be blocked from the 2024 ballot.
8 Minnesota voters filed a lawsuit citing the 14th Amendment to keep Trump off the ballot. A leftist lawyer appeared before the Minnesota Supreme Court last Thursday to argue the state has the authority to block Trump from the 2024 ballot.
The legal theories are based on Section 3 of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment which states public officials who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the US may be disqualified from public office.
Trump has not been charged with engaging in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.
Five of the Minnesota Justices, four of whom are Democrats, appeared skeptical that states can decide whether Trump can appear on the 2024 ballot.
Two of the justices recused themselves from the case.
Last week, Chief Justice Natalie Hudson sharply criticized the leftist lawyer’s argument and said, “This is a national matter for Congress to decide.”
Justice Hudson continued, “So, should we do it even if we could do it and we can do it?” She also argued that if states had the power to block a person from the ballot it would create “chaos.”
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