A New York City councilman is circulating a letter urging the state Board of Elections to disqualify former president Donald Trump from New York’s 2024 primary and general-election ballots because his actions in the wake of the 2020 election allegedly violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which forbids individuals who have “engaged in insurrection” from seeking federal office.
Councilman Shekar Krishnan’s office sent the letter to other members of the council this week asking them to sign-on in support, according to an email obtained by National Review.
“The Board of Elections must give effect to the Fourteenth Amendment and its safeguards to protect the integrity of New York’s electoral process, maintain the public’s faith in our democratic system, and respect the rule of law,” the letter reads.
While the entire list of signatories was not immediately clear, several council members confirmed to National Review that they had endorsed the letter, including councilwomen Julie Won and Jennifer Gutierrez. Won “supports the effort to disqualify of Donald Trump from the ballot in New York as a result of his unlawful efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election,” her office said.
Republican councilwoman Joann Ariola did not sign-on in support, nor did Democratic councilman Robert Holden.
“Removing a candidate from the ballot for no legal or regulatory reasons is a direct threat to democracy,” Holden said in a statement to National Review. “This trend across the nation, including here in New York, is dangerous. If you are against a candidate, you work hard to beat them at the polls, not prevent them from participating in an election.”
Ariola said the letter is “little more than political grandstanding, and a distraction from the array of serious issues facing New York City.”
“Removing Trump’s name from the ballot would change nothing in an already overwhelmingly Democratic city, where he lost four out of five boroughs in both previous elections in 2016 and 2020,” the councilwoman said in a statement to National Review. “This is a waste of time for everyone involved. My colleagues should instead be devoting their energy and efforts towards resolving the ongoing migrant crisis and bringing the budget back under control. New York City is facing some very real problems right now, and Donald Trump being on the ballot here is not one of them.”
The letter goes on to note that several other states have already disqualified Trump from the ballot, including Colorado and Maine.
“Both states were correct to take this action. As President, Trump was the foremost executive officer of the nation, and he took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States,” the letter says. “He then incited, engaged in, and aided the insurrection of January 6, 2021. The same Constitution he swore to uphold, under its 14th Amendment, renders Trump ineligible for public office, and accordingly New York State must exclude him from our ballot.”
“As elected officials ourselves, we have utmost respect for the electoral process and do not advocate for the exclusion of any candidate lightly,” the letter adds. “But Trump’s actions threatened the foundational ideals of democracy we value and which the Constitution protects. His participation in a deadly attack against the U.S. Capitol, with the goal of usurping the people’s choice and the orderly transfer of power, resulted in one of the darkest days in the history of our nation. The facts and the law are clear: for his actions on January 6, Trump cannot and should not hold any public office.”
Maine secretary of state Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, ruled last week that Trump is disqualified from the state’s ballot in response to three legal challenges against the former president’s ballot eligibility in the state.
“The events of January 6, 2021 were unprecedented and tragic,” Bellows wrote in her 34-page decision. “They were an attack not only upon the Capitol and government officials, but also an attack on the rule of law. The evidence here demonstrates that they occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of, the outgoing President. The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government, and [Maine law] requires me to act in response.”
Trump’s appearance on the ballot is facing lawsuits in at least 13 states, including Texas, Nevada, and Wisconsin.
The Colorado supreme court barred Trump from its own ballot over a similar challenge. However, Trump is set to appear on the Colorado ballot while the state GOP appeals the court’s decision.
Colorado’s Secretary of State Jena Griswold said Thursday that, in light of the appeal, Trump will appear on the state’s ballot unless the U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear the case or upholds the state supreme court’s ruling.
“The Colorado Supreme Court has removed the leading Republican candidate from the primary and general ballots, fundamentally changing the course of American democracy,” the Colorado GOP’s attorneys argued.
“Unless the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision is overturned, any voter will have the power to sue to disqualify any political candidate, in Colorado or in any other jurisdiction that follows its lead. This will not only distort the 2024 presidential election but will also mire courts henceforth in political controversies over nebulous accusations of insurrection,” the lawyers said.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota supreme court dismissed one such case in November, holding that there “is no state statute that prohibits a major political party from placing on the presidential nomination ballot, or sending delegates to the national convention supporting, a candidate who is ineligible for office.” But the court’s ruling said that the body would not ban a challenge to Trump’s eligibility from appearing on the state’s general-election ballot.