California Lt. Governor: ‘Explore Every Legal Option’ To Remove Trump From Ballot
California’s lieutenant governor sent a letter to the state’s secretary of state on Wednesday asking her to explore “every legal option” to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballot, just one day after Colorado’s Supreme Court ruled the former president would not be on the state’s 2024 primary ballot.
Democratic Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis urged Democratic Secretary of State Shirley Weber to investigate whether Colorado’s recent decision to exclude Trump from the primary ballot—because the court ruled he violated the 14th Amendment by inciting an insurrection during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot on the Capitol—could be used as a basis for California to follow suit.
In her letter, Kounalakis acknowledged there would be “political punditry” about a potential decision to remove Trump from the primary ballot but said “this is not a matter of political gamesmanship.”
Kounalakis also noted Weber would have to make a quick decision as the announcement of the certified list of candidates for the primary is set for Dec. 28.
It’s an ongoing legal question if secretaries of states can remove Trump from the ballot themselves—other states including Michigan, Arizona and Minnesota have ruled against similar efforts.
“The constitution is clear: you must be 40 years old and not be an insurrectionist,” Kounalakis wrote in the letter.
On Tuesday, Colorado’s Supreme Court surprised many with its decisionn ot to include Trump on the state’s 2024 primary ballot. The 4-3 ruling said that Trump was disqualified from reelection under section three of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits people who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the [U.S.], or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” from taking an oath of office or from holding public office. The Colorado court said Trump “engaged in” an insurrection when he incited the rioters who rushed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. The court, made up of all Democratic appointees, said that disqualifies Trump, and subsequently the Colorado secretary of state should not put him on the ballot.
The Colorado decision will likely be heard by the Supreme Court in the coming months—a decision that could impact what happens in other states, as well. A move to take Trump off the California ballot would also likely prompt legal challenges.
It’s unclear where California Gov. Gavin Newsom stands on the matter. He has not said anything about Colorado’s decision to remove Trump from the ballot and his name was not signed on Kounalakis’ letter.
Texas’ lieutenant governor floats taking Biden off the state ballot
Shortly after the Colorado Supreme Court issued its bombshell ruling that Donald Trump is disqualified from the state’s GOP primary ballot, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggested doing the same to President Joe Biden over immigration.
On Tuesday night, Patrick told Fox News host Laura Ingraham: “Seeing what happened in Colorado tonight, Laura, makes me think — except we believe in democracy in Texas — maybe we should take Joe Biden off the ballot in Texas for allowing 8 million people to cross the border since he’s been president, disrupting our state far more than anything anyone else has done in recent history.”
Patrick was on Fox News to defend a new Texas law that makes unlawful border crossings a state crime, allowing local police to arrest migrants who cross the border and giving local judges the power to order deportation. The law was enacted as Biden reportedly considers stricter border measures in exchange for aid to Ukraine. Immigration rights groups have already sued Texas over the law.
It’s unclear how Texas officials would even begin to go about taking Biden off the ballot — an idea Patrick floated while dismissing the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling as undemocratic in the same breath. The Colorado decision could, however, affect other presidential candidates besides Trump.
On Tuesday night, GOP hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy vowed to voluntarily pull his name off the ballot in Colorado in solidarity with Trump, and he insisted that his remaining primary rivals do the same.
“I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary ballot until Trump is also allowed to be on the ballot,” he wrote on X, “and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley do the same immediately — or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country.”
Voting Booths in 2024.
| Democrat States | Republican States |
| □ Biden | □ Trump |
| □ Biden | □ Trump |
| □ RFK Jr. | □ RFK Jr. |
Keep in mind. Trump hasn’t been convicted or charged for insurrection but Colorado has removed him for insurrection. California is looking for options to go down the same route as Colorado.
