Oregon justices deny petition to bar Trump from the primary and general election ballots

The Oregon Supreme Court on Friday said it is declining to hear five Oregon voters' lawsuit to block Donald Trump from being on the Oregon 2024 Republican primary and general election ballots.

The five voters petitioned the Oregon Supreme Court in December arguing Trump was disqualified from holding public office because he had violated the Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause in the U.S. Constitution. Trump, their lawyers argue, "engaged in a course of conduct, culminating on January 6, 2021, that constituted" an "insurrection."

The court's Friday order denying the petition said the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a decision by Colorado's Supreme Court on identical arguments.

The Colorado Supreme Court agreed with the arguments and decided Trump should be removed from ballots. The ruling was appealed, and the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Feb. 8.

Oregon Chief Justice Meagan Flynn said in her Friday order that a decision in the Colorado case surrounding the 14th Amendment could resolve arguments made in the Oregon case. Flynn said if any issues remain after the U.S. Supreme Court decision, the Oregon case could be filed again.

The Oregon voters are represented by Oregon lawyers Jason Kafoury of Kafoury & McDougal and Daniel Meek, alongside the national advocacy group Free Speech for People.

The petition was filed after the Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade announced on Nov. 30 that she would not remove Trump from Oregon's ballot.

“Oregon law does not give me the authority to determine the qualifications of candidates in a presidential primary,” Griffin-Valade said in a release announcing her decision. “I will follow our usual process and expect to put Donald Trump on the primary ballot unless a court directs me otherwise.”

The Secretary of State said the Oregon Department of Justice concluded she lacked the authority to disqualify Trump or any candidate in a presidential primary election because there wasn't a set of qualifications for who could be considered at a party nominating convention.

Trump had filed a 162-page brief in December objecting to the argument that he had participated in an insurrection and claimed the Oregon Supreme Court and petitioners lacked the authority to make a decision blocking him from the ballot or suing.

Last week the Oregon Supreme Court requested additional briefs for further explanation on the voters' right to sue and the secretary of state's authority to determine a presidential candidate's eligibility.

On Tuesday, the voters' lawyers said their request was a matter of "urgent public concern" and that the judicial power of Oregon broadly included the authority to hear cases, "particularly cases of public importance."

The secretary of state's duties, they added, include "accurate ballot preparation."

Free Speech for People said in a statement that the Oregon Supreme Court's "decision not to decide is disappointing."

The group also expressed concern about the uncertainty of when the U.S Supreme Court would finalize its decision.

"Waiting until the U.S. Supreme Court issues its order only compresses the time that the Oregon Supreme Court may have to resolve the issues that may remain if the U.S. Supreme Court does not fully resolve all the issues in this case," the statement said.

Griffin-Valade has a March 21 deadline to finalize presidential primary ballots.

Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on Twitter @DianneLugo

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon Supreme Court denies petition to remove Trump from ballot