“I will be asking the attorney general’s office for their input,” Secretary of State David Scanlan told the Globe. “And ultimately whatever is decided is probably going to require some judicial input.”
A debate among constitutional scholars over former president Donald Trump’s eligibility for the 2024 presidential race has reverberated through the public consciousness in recent weeks and reached the ears of New Hampshire’s top election official.
Secretary of State David Scanlan, who will oversee the first-in-the-nation presidential primary in just five months, said he’s received several letters lately that urge him to take action based on a legal theory that claims the Constitution empowers him to block Trump from the ballot.
Scanlan, a Republican, said he’s listening and will seek legal advice to ensure that his team thoroughly understands the arguments at play.
Can you show me any enforcement mechanism in 14A Sec 3 of the constitution?
The Arizona Supreme Court disagrees with you (Though the Sec of State disagrees). https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4179561-trump-cant-be-barred-from-arizonas-2024-ballot-says-democratic-secretary-of-state/
Other Blue leaning states may agree with your reasoning, but Trump wasn’t going to win those anyway.
It is self-executing. It has the same enforcement mechanism as the part in Article II which states that only people who are over the age of 35 can hold the office of President.
And it’s not “Blue state” reasoning. The reason this all came up was because of the paper The Sweep and Force of Section Three, written by two Federalist Society (way way way conservative) guys. It’s long, but it’s in relatively clear language.
Let’s see how you decide to dodge ask number four:
I guess SCOTUS can actually read section 3 of the 14th amendment.
9-0.
That’s a hilarious legal argument. This will likely end up in front of Scotus.
I think I’ll go with what at least one state Supreme Court has decided over some rando on the internet.