Massachusetts Voters Take Aim at Trump’s Ballot Presence, Alleging Insurrection

Massachusetts voters are fiercely pushing for the exclusion of former President Donald Trump from their state’s Republican primary ballot.

Supporting a growing movement that seeks to prevent Trump from appearing on the primary ballot for the 2024 election.

Represented by Free Speech For People and a Massachusetts-based civil rights firm, these voters seek to block Trump’s appearance on the state’s ballot under the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. This clause bars individuals who have “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.

In a recent filing to the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission, the groups asserted that Trump, as the Republican front-runner, violated the 14th Amendment by engaging in actions defined as insurrectionary. 

They claimed Trump’s actions, after his oath as a US officer to uphold the Constitution, rendered him ineligible for office, citing his role in inciting the violent Capitol insurrection and the disruption of the peaceful transfer of power.

Trump’s Bid for Ballot Inclusion Amid Lawsuits

Ron Fein, Legal Director at Free Speech For People, emphasized, “Donald Trump violated his oath of office and incited a violent insurrection that attacked the US Capitol, threatened the assassination of the Vice President and congressional leaders, and disrupted the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation’s history.”

Free Speech For People has initiated lawsuits on behalf of voters in various states including Minnesota, Michigan, Oregon, and Illinois, joined by local counsel in each jurisdiction. 

Attorney Caryn Lederer highlighted the urgency, stating, “We cannot let a candidate who revels in undermining the rule of law continue his candidacy in clear violation of a constitutional mandate.”

Despite Trump’s legal team appealing decisions in two states regarding his removal from primary ballots, a significant number of states over a dozen are embroiled in lawsuits aiming to disqualify him from the ballot. 

While Maine and Colorado have already ruled against Trump’s eligibility, the Supreme Court is yet to weigh in on his challenges, potentially altering the course of these contentious legal battles.