December 4th, 2023 by WCBC Radio

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is co-leading an amicus brief with Indiana, asking the Colorado Supreme Court to keep former President Donald Trump on the ballot for that state’s Presidential Primary and General Elections.

The coalition of 19 states argues the “Fourteenth Amendment entrusts Insurrection Clause questions to Congress—not state officials or state courts.”“We need to protect the integrity of our elections, and actions like this undermine the right of the citizens to choose who they want to represent them in every level of government,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “This is a very simple argument: Congress gets to decide on matters like this.”

The originating lawsuit was filed by six Colorado voters who insisted Trump is disqualified from office under a Civil War-era insurrection clause in the 14th Amendment because of his involvement in the Jan. 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol.

A district judge recently ruled the insurrection clause does not apply to the presidency and allowed Trump to be on the ballot.

Trump is appealing the district judge’s finding that he participated in an insurrection, while the petitioners are appealing the ballot eligibility ruling.

The Colorado Supreme Court scheduled oral arguments for Dec. 6. “The lawsuit should not have been filed in the first place—these plaintiffs lacked standing to bring this constitutional claim,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “We are not going to allow Donald Trump or any eligible candidate to be tossed off the ballot.”

Alabama, Alaska, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming joined the West Virginia- and Indiana-led brief.