Trump emerges victorious in Massachusetts’ 14th Amendment ballot battle

A move to challenge former President Donald Trump’s candidacy in Massachusetts because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol protest has been dismissed by a state ballot panel.

The Massachusetts State Ballot Commission rejected the case, saying it did not have jurisdiction to take up the issue. CNN reported the decision is a victory for Trump.

Trump’s eligibility to run for president is being challenged in several states, based on the “insurrectionist ban” enshrined in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, according to the news network.

Colorado and Maine have removed him from the ballots. However, those decisions are on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court weighs Trump’s appeal in the Colorado case.

The Massachusetts ballot commission, an independent and bipartisan panel, met last week to hear arguments in the state case, CNN noted.

“There is nothing in the case law or the statutes that the commission is required to follow that says qualification to be on a ballot is a pre-condition to appear on the ballot,” Trump lawyer Marc Salinas said.

But Shannon Liss-Riordan, an attorney for the challengers argued: “We believe that Mr. Trump’s candidacy for this office and placement on the Massachusetts ballot violates the Constitution, so we are challenging the constitutionality. It is the job of this commission to hear objections to the legality of placement of candidates on the ballot.”

The Washington Examiner noted the commission decided it had jurisdiction over objections to nominees, but not candidates.

“At this point, there are no nominees and instead only candidates seeking a nomination,” commissioners wrote in their ruling.