The U.S. Supreme Court indicated it will issue at least one opinion Monday in a sign the justices might rule on efforts to bar former President Donald Trump from the presidential election ballot just as voters prepare to head to the polls there.
The court never says in advance which opinions it will issue on particular days. But it has handled a case out of Colorado on an expedited basis. A ruling Monday would provide clarity about Trump’s eligibility just before both Colorado and Maine hold Super Tuesday primaries.
The announcement of a new opinion day over a weekend is unusual, all the more so because the justices aren’t taking the bench Monday. The court’s typical practice is to announce opinions in argued cases from the courtroom. The court revealed the new opinion day on its website.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump was ineligible to appear on the ballot because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The ruling was the first to bar Trump from the ballot under the insurrection clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, but it was quickly followed by a similar ruling in December by Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.
The Colorado and Maine decisions are on hold, which means Trump is on the ballots in both states while the Supreme Court considers the issue. A judge in Illinois has also declared Trump ineligible, though the effect of that decision is also delayed.
Arguments in February suggested the court would let Trump appear on the ballot, with some of the more liberal members seemingly skeptical of Colorado’s arguments. If the court deems Trump ineligible, ballots cast for him will not be counted during Tuesday’s elections.
The Colorado ballot case is one of more than 30 that have been argued but not yet decided in the Supreme Court’s current term. It’s one of a small number of expedited cases, along with a challenge to the $6 billion Purdue Pharma LP opioid settlement and the shield it provides the Sackler family members who own the company.
Both Trump and President Joe Biden are the clear frontrunners in Maine’s Tuesday primaries. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the former president’s only remaining rival for the Republican nomination, is scheduled to hold a Portland rally on Sunday night. Trump has won each of the first seven states to vote and has 244 delegates locked up to Haley’s 24.
Story by Greg Stohr. BDN writer Michael Shepherd contributed to this report.