New York Democrats have renewed their effort to bar former President Donald Trump from the state’s presidential ballot in light of the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this week.
“New York is next,” State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal wrote on X after news broke that Colorado’s highest court determined that Trump, 77, is not eligible to hold office again and will be disqualified from the state’s primary ballot.
Earlier this month, Hoylman-Sigal, whose district runs from Greenwich Village to the Upper West Side, and four other Democratic state senators wrote a letter to the Empire State’s Board of Elections that claimed Trump should be barred from the state ballot due to his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, the City & State reported.
“The January 6 insurrection was a violent uprising against the United States that tragically resulted in loss of multiple lives,” the letter read, according to the outlet.
“That dark day in our nation’s history was led, facilitated, and encouraged by Trump. The Board must not allow those who participated to run again for office against the mandate of the Constitution,” it continued.
Trump – who has thrown his hat into the ring for the 2024 presidential election – may be ineligible to run for office under the 14th Amendment, the City & State reported.
The reasoning is similar to the Colorado ruling, which determined that former president was ineligible for the White House under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment – which bans anyone who engaged in an insurrection from holding civil or military office.
Shortly before the Colorado decision, New York Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx) introduced a suggested amendment to the state’s own election law, which would have the Board of Elections ban anyone from the ballet who participated in an insurrection, the Post-Journal said.
“This legislation will ensure there is a process in place to preclude an individual who participated in an insurrection or rebellion against the United States from being able to serve in elective office,” Dinowitz wrote of the proposal.
Trump, meanwhile, has vowed to appeal the Colorado decision to the US Supreme Court – but has not yet done so.
If the country’s highest court upholds the Colorado ruling, however, it could results in other states issuing similar decisions.
Thus far, New York state courts have not been asked to rule on the issue – though Republican presidential hopeful John Anthony Castro did file a federal lawsuit asking to remove Trump from the state ballot.
The Board of Elections responded to the move on Nov. 3 and declined to take a position.