The Colorado Secretary of State said Thursday that she will include former President Donald Trump as a candidate on the state's 2024 primary ballot while the state Supreme Court's decision to exclude him from the ballot goes through the appeals process.
Secretary of State Jena Griswold will certify the primary ballots on the state's Jan. 5, 2024, deadline with Trump's name printed on them "unless the U.S. Supreme Court declines to take the case or otherwise affirms the Colorado Supreme Court ruling," according to a press release from her office.
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Griswold's announcement came after the state Republican Party filed an appeal Wednesday night to the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling that Trump is ineligible to appear on the state's 2024 ballot under the 14th Amendment.
The state's high court ruled on Dec. 19 in a 4–3 opinion that Trump "engaged in insurrection" on Jan. 6, 2021, and that he was therefore disqualified from running for president.
The court, however, stayed its ruling until Jan. 4, 2024, the day before the state is set to finalize and start printing primary ballots, and it also said that the pause would automatically continue in the event of an appeal — a process the Colorado GOP has initiated.
"If review is sought in the Supreme Court before the stay expires on January 4, 2024, then the stay shall remain in place, and the Secretary will continue to be required to include President Trump’s name on the 2024 presidential primary ballot, until the receipt of any order or mandate from the Supreme Court," the Colorado justices wrote.
Griswold's statement on Thursday signals that she plans to comply with the state's high court until the Supreme Court of the United States weighs in on the Colorado GOP appeal.
Griswold, a Democrat, also said Thursday that she agreed with the state Supreme Court's ruling and indicated that she hopes the U.S. Supreme Court moves quickly.
“Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and was disqualified under the Constitution from the Colorado Ballot," Griswold said. "The Colorado Supreme Court got it right.
"This decision is now being appealed," she added. "I urge the U.S. Supreme Court to act quickly given the upcoming presidential primary election.”
The high court's timeline for responding to the state GOP's appeal is unclear.
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A spokesman for Trump's campaign called the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling "completely flawed" when it was announced and vowed that Trump himself would also be filing an appeal, which he is expected to do in the coming days.
"We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits,” the spokesman said in a statement.