The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge brought by a man seeking to bar President Trump from office under the Constitution’s Insurrection Clause.
Joe Alter, who cast his ballot for former President Joseph R. Biden in 2020, asked the high court to determine whether he has standing to challenge Mr. Trump’s eligibility to hold office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. A lower court ruled he did not have standing — or sufficient legal injury — to bring the case.
He says he witnessed the pro-Trump mob attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“This case is timely and critical for the future integrity of the electoral process, particularly as it pertains to the qualifications of candidates seeking to hold the office of the President of the United States,” Mr Alter’s petition read.
It would have taken four justices to vote in favor of hearing Mr. Alter’s case for oral arguments to have been scheduled.
The high court had previously ruled in a dispute involving Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in a case in which Colorado voters sought to disqualify Mr. Trump from its state ballot in 2024.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in December 2023 that Mr. Trump was ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot for the Republican presidential primary. The court put that decision on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case in early 2024. Colorado was one of several states where voters had petitioned to kick Mr. Trump off the ballot.
Those who attempted to remove Mr. Trump from state ballots pointed to the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which reads in part: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Colorado voters’ case, ruling Mr. Trump could appear on the ballot.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.