“Trump Fight in Colorado: GOP Takes U.S. Supreme Court Battle to Keep Him on 2020 Ballot

On Tuesday, the Colorado Republican Party (CRP) asked the U.S. Supreme Court to force the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office to allow President Trump onto the ballot for the November election. The request comes amid a legal battle between the Secretary’s Office and the Republicans over whether petitions must be electronically signed by an individual to regain ballot access for Trump after the President failed to meet a June 30th deadline. In an 8-1 decision across party lines, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled last week that petitions must be manually signed by a voter’s name in order to meet the requirements for ballot access. While the ruling is being hailed as a victory for voting rights advocates, the CRP argues that the decision causes “irreparable harm” to their “associational rights” as an organization, according to their press release. The challenge, citing a past Supreme Court decision involving Ohio’s ballot access laws, contends that the Colorado Constitution’s requirement that signatures must be “personally written, signed, or affixed to any petition” inherently limits the CRP’s ability to secure the necessary ballot access for their candidate. By preventing the CRP from using electronic signature-gathering, the Secretary of State’s Office is creating a barrier to the ballot box that would otherwise not exist in any other state. The Supreme Court would have to move quickly, as the deadline for parties to submit candidates’ names to local election officials is September 8. The CRP is asking for an injunction, which would immediately suspend the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling and instead allow electronic signature collection. Otherwise, the Republican Party’s candidates, including President Trump, would be denied ballot access. The rights of the individuals and political organizations’ associational rights have been bolstered by the CRP’s challenge. While the Supreme Court’s ruling is being praised as a step forward for voting rights, the Colorado Republican Party is asking the Supreme Court to find a way to keep Trump on the ballot this November. Only time will tell how the battle between the Secretary of State’s Office and the Republican Party plays out.