Ashcroft confirms Trump will appear on Missouri ballots if chosen by Republican caucuses

Following the decision Tuesday by the Colorado Supreme Court to deny former President Trump from appearing on the state’s 2024 presidential ballot, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said Trump will be allowed to appear on Missouri’s ballot, if voters choose him as their candidate.

“The state of Missouri will reject what happened in the Colorado Supreme Court,” Ashcroft said. “The people of this state will make a decision as to who they want to be the President of the United States.”

Missouri will be conducting its presidential preference primaries through party-operated caucuses for the Republicans and a primary for the Democrats. A change in state law in 2022 did away with presidential preference primaries conducted by the state.

“If President Trump is elected in the caucus that we'll be having in the first week of March, then he will appear on the general election ballot in Missouri,” Ashcroft said.

As such, the only time that Ashcroft’s office will be involved with listing candidates on Missouri’s ballot is for the November 2024 General Election, following the caucuses, state and congressional conventions necessary to choose a parties’ choice for their presidential candidate.

Why did the Colorado Supreme Court reject Trump from the ballot?

Under the 14th Amendment, there is a clause that was enacted to prohibit former Confederate military members from holding office following the end of the Civil War.

It reads as follows: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

After the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, many experts questioned whether Trump’s next bid for power could be invalidated by this clause. First, it must be proven that he participated in insurrection that day, which is the topic of some pending charges he faces, among other charges related to election interference.

However, the question that many courts across the country have centered on, and the Ashcroft mentioned in a press conference Wednesday morning, is whether or not the 14th Amendment applies to Trump.

While the first part of this section of the 14th Amendment implies that the offices mentioned cannot be held by violators of the clause, the second part states who the clause applies to. The office of the president is not explicitly mentioned in that section, although the Colorado Supreme Court decided that Trump was an “officer of the United States” in their ruling.

“You have to have been a member of Congress, an officer of the United States, a member of any state legislature, or an executive or judicial officer of any state, under the law for the law to apply to you,” Ashcroft said.

While there is debate as to how broad the definition of the term “officer of the United States” may be, Ashcroft points to other places in government documents where that term was used, and the consistency that must exist between interpretations of that term.

“Looking at what it means to be an officer of the United States, if you look at the appointments clause where it's used, it says presidents can nominate Ambassadors, other public ministers and councils, judges of the Supreme Court and all other officers of the United States,” Ashcroft said.

He argues that this, and other mentions of an officer of the United States, negate Trump’s eligibility as the president to be considered as such.

“Under a plain reading of the 14th Amendment, the president is not an officer,” Ashcroft said.

More: Four Missouri gubernatorial candidates vie for GOP nomination. Here are their goals

Where do things go from here, for Missouri and for the United States?

Using this logic, Ashcroft argues that the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in error. He, and many other experts, expect this matter to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in order to obtain the final judgment on the matter.

“Eventually the United States Supreme Court will overturn this judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court,” Ashcroft said. “And I want the people of the state to know they will make the decision, not the judges in another state.”

When the matter is heard by the nation’s highest court, Ashcroft plans to elaborate on the perceived errors in the Colorado ruling.

“There are a lot of reasons why the Colorado Supreme Court got this wrong,” Ashcroft said. “And when this case is appealed, in a different capacity, I will be filing an amicus brief to explain why it was wrong.”

When asked by reporters at the press conference Wednesday, Ashcroft did not weigh in on the validity of the accusations that Trump engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6 or how this might impact his presidential campaign, but instead reaffirmed his dedication to his role and duties as Secretary of State.

“I have a responsibility as the chief election authority for this state to protect the right of the people under the law to make decisions and elections and be able to trust that their voices are heard,” Ashcroft said. “That's why I'm here. That's what I'm concerned about. That's what this office will continue to do.”

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Trump will appear on Missouri’s ballot if chosen by Republican caucus