Massachusetts voters Thursday joined the fight to bump Donald Trump from 2024 presidential ballots under the 14th Amendment's insurrectionist ban.
The group Free Speech for People — which pursued similar action in Minnesota and Michigan — announced in a press release that they've filed a new challenge with the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission.
Among the challengers are Republicans, Independents, and former Boston Mayor Kim Janey, the group says.
“Donald Trump violated his oath of office and incited a violent insurrection that attacked the U.S. Capitol, threatened the assassination of the Vice President and congressional leaders, and disrupted the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation’s history,” said Ron Fein, Legal Director at Free Speech For People.
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“Trump is legally barred from the ballot and election officials must follow this constitutional mandate.”
Massachusetts law empowers the state's governor-appointed Ballot Law Commission to render decisions on the constitutional qualifications of political nominees in presidential primaries, the group argues.
Last month, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin, a Democrat, told the Boston Globe he would include Trump’s name on the presidential primary ballot because state Republicans submitted his name.
“There a lot of good reasons not to like Trump," Galvin told the Globe. "But this isn’t about Trump’s personality."
Their challenge comes as Trump battles two similar ballot-blocking rulings in Maine and Colorado, the latter of which is likely to reach the Supreme Court.
Labor Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan said she joins the challengers in Massachusetts to protect the rule of law across the nation.
“Today’s legal action is not about partisan politics but about upholding our Constitution," Liss-Riordan said. "That is why Massachusetts voters across the political spectrum have joined together to challenge Donald Trump’s wrongful placement on the Massachusetts ballot.”
