The Daily Fuckup

The Supreme Court on Feb. 8, 2024 heard oral arguments in Donald Trump’s challenge to Colorado’s decision to remove him from the state’s primary ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The case, Trump v. Anderson, arrived on an expedited schedule because the justices were being asked to resolve the dispute before the 2024 primary calendar moved further ahead. The court did not decide the case that day; it only heard argument. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2023/23-719?utm_source=openai))

At issue was whether Colorado could use Section 3, the Reconstruction-era disqualification clause, to bar Trump from appearing on its ballot based on his role in the events surrounding Jan. 6, 2021. Trump’s lawyers asked the justices to reverse the state court ruling and said states should not be allowed to keep him off presidential primary ballots on that theory. Colorado’s side argued that the Constitution gives states a basis to enforce the provision. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2023/23-719_2jf3.pdf?utm_source=openai))

The argument put the constitutional question back in front of the court without settling it. The justices pressed both sides on how Section 3 should work, who gets to enforce it, and whether a former president can be treated differently from other officeholders under the amendment. For Trump, the immediate fight was about ballot access in Colorado. The larger question was whether a candidate accused of engaging in insurrection-related conduct can be excluded from a state primary ballot under the Constitution at all. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2023/23-719_2jf3.pdf?utm_source=openai))

Because the court had only heard the case and had not yet ruled, the Feb. 8 session left both the legal and political stakes unresolved. A decision came later. On March 4, 2024, the Supreme Court reversed the Colorado ruling and held that states may not enforce Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates on their own. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-719_19m2.pdf?utm_source=openai))