CA secretary of state declines to remove Trump from primary ballot after requests to disqualify him

[brooklynite]

Source: KABC Los Angeles

SACRAMENTO -- California's secretary of state included former President Donald Trump on the certified list of candidates released Thursday for the state's March 5 primary.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber faced political pressure to reject Trump's candidacy in the state, including from Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a fellow Democrat who urged her in a Dec. 20 letter to "explore every legal option" to remove the former president from the California ballot. Weber later responded that she was guided by "the rule of law," and indicated the proper venue to resolve ballot challenges was in the courts.

This comes after Maine's Democratic secretary of state removed Trump from the state's presidential primary ballot under the Constitution's insurrection clause, becoming the first election official to take action unilaterally as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide whether the former president remains eligible to return to the White House.

The decision by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows follows a ruling earlier this month by the Colorado Supreme Court that booted Trump from the ballot there under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That decision has been stayed until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether Trump is barred by the Civil War-era provision, which prohibits those who "engaged in insurrection" from holding office.

Read more: https://abc7.com/donald-trump-california-ballot-ca-secretary-of-state-maine-blocks/14237622/

[Polybius]

1. The vast majority will decline

The SC will ultimately rule on this.

[SunSeeker]

4. The CA SoS's decision was not based on the merits but on the fact that she has no jurisdiction to make a decision.

CA law is different in that regard to the laws of Maine. In Maine, the state laws actually require the Secretary of State to hold a hearing if a Maine voter complains about a candidate's eligibility, then she is required to issue a ruling within 5 days of that hearing. That is what the Maine Secretary of State did.

I don't know what percentage of states have laws like Maine, but what makes you think that, of those who do have laws like Maine, "the vast majority will decline"?

[Polybius]

10. There's really no way to prove what will happen in the future

We'll just have to wait and see. I'm pretty sure the vast majority will decline. The very liberal Colorado SC's decision was 4-3. I except the US SC to be 8-1. Maybe I'll be wrong.

[SunSeeker]

13. You think SCOTUS will be 8-1 to uphold Maine's disqualification decision?

I hope so!

[Polybius]

15. No, I think the opposite

I think SCOTUS will vote 8-1 to strike down Maine's (and any other state that does so) disqualification decision.

[William Seger]

2. Apparently, CA law doesn't allow the Secretary of State to determine Constitutional eligibility

... although, it isn't clear to me who does have that authority -- presumably, the courts, somehow, but who brings an action? Looks like another case of differences in state election laws:

CA Elec Code § 6340 (2022)

(a) The Secretary of State shall place the name of a candidate upon the Republican presidential primary ballot when the Secretary of State has determined that the candidate is generally advocated for or recognized throughout the United States or California as a candidate for the nomination of the Republican Party for President of the United States.

[SunSeeker]

3. Correct, whereas Maine requires the Secretary of State to hold a hearing and make a decision if a voter complains.

And apparently some Maine voters complained about Trump's eligibility to their Secretary of State, and under Maine law, she had to hold a hearing and then render a decision within 5 days of that hearing. Maine's Secretary of State was on MSNBC tonight, I think on Lawrence O'Donnell's show, and she explained all this.

I'm sure the Trumpanzees are already attacking her with death threats.

[ificandream]

5. On the ballot or not, Trump won't win a vote majority in California.

He got trounced in 2020 (it was Joe Biden 11,110,250 beating Trump 6,006,429). And he will again in 2024.

Results from NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-elections/california-president-results/

[SouthernDem4ever]

8. Even looking at those numbers I still can't believe that many people

thought Dump would be a good president.

[malthaussen]

6. This is why I think the USSC will not take the CO appeal.

If they kick the decision of DJT's eligibility back to the States, then there will be 50 different responses based on the peculiarities of that State's constitution. My belief is that is what the Court would prefer, rather than the onus of making a decision.

-- Mal

[SouthernDem4ever]

9. And of course there are states who won't even follow their own rules anyway

because they have fascists ruining their government.

[LiberalFighter]

7. If someone was not thirty five or not a natural born citizen

Would the Secretary of State still reject the challenge?

[William Seger]

12. By law, she has to put anyone on the ballot who is "generally advocated for or recognized" as a candidate

So, if CA Republicans were generally dumb enough to think that someone who didn't meet those Constitutional requirements was a viable candidate, she'd be obliged to list them.

[brooklynite]

14. Answer: yes because that's a provable fact

“Engaged in insurrection” is subjective at this point.

[Bayard]

11. Disappointing

With Calif's population, this would have been a big deal.

The more states that do this, the more of an impression it will make, except for hardcore MAGA'ts.

[LiberalFighter]

16. Is there anything in the Constitution that requires a candidate to be a living person?