Six Colorado voters filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to keep former President Donald J. Trump off the state’s presidential ballots next year under the 14th Amendment, which says anyone who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution after taking an oath to defend it is ineligible to hold office.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the Federal District Court in Denver with the help of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, demands that the Colorado secretary of state not print Mr. Trump’s name on the Republican primary ballot. It also asks the court to rule that Mr. Trump is disqualified from holding office in order to end any “uncertainty” about his eligibility.
The theory that the 14th Amendment could disqualify Mr. Trump has been gaining traction among liberals and anti-Trump conservatives since two prominent conservative law professors published an article last month. But it remains a legal long shot. Mr. Trump’s campaign would surely appeal any ruling that he was ineligible, and a final decision could rest with the Supreme Court, which has a conservative supermajority that includes three justices appointed by Mr. Trump himself.
A spokesman for Mr. Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jena Griswold, the Colorado secretary of state, said in a statement, “I look forward to the Colorado court’s substantive resolution of the issues, and am hopeful that this case will provide guidance to election officials on Trump’s eligibility as a candidate for office.”
This is a breaking news article and will be updated.