March 5, also known as Super Tuesday, is quickly approaching. It is the day that Colorado and many other states will hold presidential primary elections, but who will actually be on the ballot?
Former president Donald Trump is in the midst of many legal issues. The Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments over Trump’s eligibility to appear on Colorado’s presidential primary ballot on Feb. 8. The case was appealed to the highest level after Colorado’s Supreme Court ruled that Trump was not eligible to appear as a candidate under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capital.
The clause of the 14th amendment used in the Colorado ruling originates from the Civil War era. The main motivation behind this amendment was to prohibit confederate leaders from holding power in the U.S. government. The official wording of the amendment is that any “officer” who had previously taken an oath to support the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” would be barred from holding future governmental positions. The amendment does not specifically mention the president as an officer.
The arguments went on for two hours, and the court still has yet to reach a resolution. Although, all judges seemed skeptical that a state has the right to bar a candidate from the ballot.
As of right now, Trump will be on Colorado’s ballot as a GOP candidate. However, if the Supreme Court releases its ruling and sides with Colorado’s court, the votes cast for Trump will not count in Colorado’s primary.
Similarly, all votes cast for the people who dropped out of the race will not count either. Former candidates like Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy may still be shown on the ballot until they formally request to be removed from contention in Colorado. As of today, there will be nine presidential candidates on Colorado’s presidential primary ballot.
On the Democratic ballot in Colorado, there will be eight candidates, including President Joe Biden and the non-committed delegate option. Essentially, the non-committed delegate option is a way to vote for none of the above candidates. Below is a list of all candidates that will be shown on the ballot in order of appearance.
Jason Michael Palmer — D
Gabriel Cornejo — D
Frankie Lozada — D
Dean Phillips — D
Stephen P Lyons — D
Marianne Williamson — D
Joseph R Biden Jr — D
Armando “Mando” Perez-Serrato — D
Noncommitted delegate* — D
Vivek Ramaswamy — R
Asa Hutchinson — R
Nikki Haley — R
Ron DeSantis — R
Chris Christie — R
Ryan L Binkley — R
Donald J. Trump — R
Rachel Hannah “Mohawk” Swift — R
Walter Iwachiw — R
If you are not voting in Colorado and instead will be voting absentee for your state, you can find the specific step-by-step process here. A lot of states are different, but most states’ requirements to vote absentee include being out of town on election day and temporarily living out of state for college.
This election season is already making history and is on track to make more. If you are not yet registered to vote, you can register here.
Election Dates and Deadlines for Colorado:
Presidential primary: March 5 in person, Feb. 26 by mail.
State primary: June 25 in person, June 17 by mail.
General Election: Nov. 5 in person, Oct. 28 by mail.
