NY lawmakers ask state Board of Elections to boot Trump from 2024 ballot
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s name should be excluded from New York’s ballot in next year’s presidential primary and general election for his alleged incitement of the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a group of state senators urged election officials on Thursday.
In a letter to the state Board of Elections shared exclusively with the Daily News, New York Senators Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Liz Krueger, and others cited Trump’s alleged efforts to overthrow democracy in violation of the Constitution’s “ Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause” in outlining why he shouldn’t be featured on the ballot. The effort mirrors one already underway in a closely watched case before Colorado’s Supreme Court.
“The January 6 insurrection was a violent uprising against the United States that tragically resulted in loss of multiple lives. That dark day in our nation’s history was led, facilitated, and encouraged by Trump. The Board must not allow those who participated to run again for office against the mandate of the Constitution,” reads the letter.
“Therefore, with the urgency of an approaching primary election, we urge the Board to address this critical issue now and to ensure Trump’s name does not appear on the New York ballot.”
Asking BOE co-chairs Peter Kosinski and Douglas Kellner to fulfill their “weighty responsibility” and exclude the current Republican front-runner as they would a candidate who’s underage or isn’t a natural-born citizen, the senators said his role in the deadly storming of the nation’s capital renders him ineligible to hold public office until he’s relieved of the disqualification by two-thirds of both chambers of Congress.
“[I]neligible candidates who have engaged in insurrection in violation of the Constitution are not eligible for candidacy under New York law,” the senators wrote. “Donald Trump, as the leader of such an insurrection, should not be listed on New York ballots.”
The Daily News reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment.
A spokesperson for the BOE, which determines candidates’ eligibility, did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Section three of the Fourteenth Amendment says anyone sworn to uphold the Constitution — whether as an officer of the U.S., congress member, state lawmaker, executive or judicial leader — who engaged “in insurrection or rebellion” against it cannot hold public office.
On Wednesday, Colorado’s Supreme Court heard arguments about whether the Civil War-era provision should prohibit Trump from moving back into the Oval Office. The justices questioned whether the clause — which doesn’t specifically mention the presidency — can apply to Trump, The Associated Press reported.
Trump’s lawyer, Scott Gessler, representing him in the Colorado case, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Similar bids to boot Trump, facing 91 felonies in four criminal cases, from the ballot in states including Michigan and Arizona have failed. The Colorado case brought on behalf of the state’s Republican and unaffiliated voters by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington picked up steam on November 17 when a district court judge found Trump met criteria of the insurrection clause.
Hoylman-Sigal told The News that the letter serves as a notice to state election officials and interested parties “that we’re watching.”
“Ideally the BOE would move to exclude Trump from the primary and general election ballots under the 14th Amendment,” he said.
“If they do let him, at that point, interested groups could file lawsuits.”
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