‘In this country, the people elect our leaders. That’s what it means to live in a democracy.’
FRANKFORT, KY – Attorney General Russell Coleman joined 26 attorneys general to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear former President Donald Trump’s petition to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to block him from its presidential ballot.
“In this country, the people elect our leaders. That’s what it means to live in a democracy. One state’s judges have no right to decide a presidential election for all 330 million Americans,” said Attorney General Coleman. “This isn’t a question of Republican or Democrat; it’s a question of letting the voters decide. All Americans, regardless of political affiliation, should want a vigorous election and oppose this undemocratic effort.”
Presidential elections are national contests, and throwing a candidate off Colorado’s ballot could dilute Kentuckians’ votes at the ballot box. With the Iowa caucuses just days away, General Coleman and the coalition stress how the Colorado court’s decision to bar a leading candidate from its ballot threatens to throw the 2024 presidential election into chaos.
“We are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene right away and deliver a clear answer before voters are denied the chance to vote for the candidate of their choosing,” continued Coleman.
The attorneys general also voice concerns that the Colorado court upset the respective roles of Congress, the states and the courts. The Constitution gives Congress, not courts, exclusive authority to decide who is eligible to run for the Presidency under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The amicus brief was led by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita. Attorney General Coleman was joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
To read the brief, click here.
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