California Lt. Gov Urges State To Kick Trump Off Their Ballot Too: ‘Explore Every Legal Option’

Isaac SchorrDec 20th, 2023, 2:54 pm
 
Donald Trump

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack File

California Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis (D) has addressed a letter to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber asking her “to explore every legal option to remove former President Donald Trump from California’s 2024 presidential primary ballot.”

Kounalakis said she was “prompted” by the Colorado Supreme Court’s determination that Trump was disqualified from reprising his role as president by the 14th Amendment as a result of his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and role in the January 6 Capitol riot.

“This decision is about honoring the rule of law in our country and protecting the fundamental pillars of our democracy,” argued Kounalakis. “California must stand on the right side of history. California is obligated to determine if Trump is ineligible for the California ballot.”

“The constitution [sic] is clear: you must be 40 years old and not be an insurrectionist,” she continued, misstating the Constitution’s clause requiring the president to be at least 35-years-old.

“There will be the inevitable political punditry about a decision to remove Trump from the ballot, but is is not a matter of political gamesmanship. This is a dire matter that puts at stake the sanctity of our constitution and our democracy,” concluded Kounalakis.

The Colorado decision is headed to the Supreme Court and has drawn praise from some anti-Trump stalwarts as well as criticism from a wide variety of voices who have derided it as anti-democratic.

“It is a strikingly anti-democratic holding, in my view,” opined legal commentator and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley on Tuesday night before predicting that more states might pursue such a strategy. “States could engage in a tit-for-tat type of series of decisions. You know, you could have red states blocking Biden on some ballots and blue states blocking Trump.”

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