The liberal group fighting to keep former President Donald Trump off the Michigan ballot in 2024 is appealing a lower court's decision to the Michigan Supreme Court after a judge ruled he could remain on the ballot next year.
Free Speech for People lost its case in Michigan's lower courts after it sued Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to disqualify the former president from the ticket next November under the 14th Amendment, pointing to a section that prohibits a person who has engaged in insurrection from running for federal office. The liberal group is one of several across many states that are seeking to prevent Trump's candidacy based on his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the riot that ensued at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
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Michigan Court of Claims Judge James Robert Redford threw out the lawsuits to bar Trump from the Republican primary ballot Tuesday. Free Speech for Peace filed an appeal late Thursday afternoon, stating that it is seeking "an immediate and expedited consideration" for appeal and an "emergency application" to bypass the state's appeals court to go directly to the state Supreme Court, according to NBC News.
“It is a virtual certainty that any decision by the Court of Appeals will be appealed to this court by the party that does not prevail,” the filing said. “But with the pressing need to finalize and print the ballots for the presidential primary election, there is not time for considered decisions from both the Court of Appeals and this court. Time is therefore of the essence in this election case.”
The group has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to make a decision by Dec. 1 to reverse the lower court's ruling and remand the lower court for an evidentiary hearing on Trump's eligibility for the presidency.
Redford said he rejected the lawsuit because the case has "potential for running afoul" of principles against judges "becoming embroiled in recurring and highly partisan disputes." If he blocked Trump from the ballot, he continued, it would deprive "the decision of whether there was a rebellion or insurrection and whether or not someone participated in it from the Congress, a body made up of elected representatives of the people."
Other states considering attempts to bar Trump from the 2024 ballot include Minnesota, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Arizona. A lawyer in Wyoming filed a lawsuit this week seeking to disqualify Trump from the November ballot, but the case has not been taken up in court.
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A Minnesota court rejected the 14th Amendment challenge in that state and ruled in Trump's favor on Nov. 8. Colorado's ruling is expected to come as early as Friday.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Trump's campaign for comment.