Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab has joined a coalition of secretaries of state in filing a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to narrowly define who can disqualify a Presidential candidate from the ballot under the 14th Amendment.
An amicus brief was filed by Schwab and secretaries of state from Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, Indiana, Louisiana, West Virginia, Montana, Tennessee and Alabama. The brief was filed ahead of a hearing by the Supreme Court on December actions in Colorado and Maine to prevent former President Donald Trump from being on the election ballots in those states.
The decision in Colorado was made by that state’s supreme court, and the decision in Maine was made by the secretary of state. The brief filed by Schwab and the other secretaries of state is arguing that a secretary of state does not have the authority to determine when the 14th Amendment should be invoked. The coalition said the Amendment was adopted after the Civil War to bar Confederates from serving as President because of their war against the Union.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the Colorado appeal on February 8th. An appeal of the Maine decision is on hold pending the outcome of the Colorado case.
