The Heritage Foundation could make things ‘difficult’ for Democrats, but election law experts say the group’s threat of litigation is more about challenging the legitimacy of Trump’s rival, Alex Woodward reports
If the president ultimately decides to hang up his re-election campaign before the Democratic National Convention, where party members would then come up with an alternate nominee, there aren’t any legal pathways to force states to keep his name on the ballot.
The point of waging a potential legal blitz is more about making Democrats scramble in court rather than keeping Biden on the ballot, experts and voting rights groups told The Independent.
A memo drawn up by Heritage’s Oversight Project specifically mentions election rules for candidates in Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin — battleground states that Biden won in 2020 — that the group believes are ripe for litigation.
Even if states required the Democratic Party to certify its nominee before convention, it would likely be unconstitutional under Supreme Court precedent — including in a ruling that involved Trump’s own eligibility for office.
Earlier this year, the justices heard arguments on whether the former president should be disqualified from appearing on Colorado ballots under the 14th Amendment, which bans candidates who participated in insurrection from holding public office.
President Biden has repeatedly argued in interviews and in rally speeches that voters have already made their decision about who should be at the top of the ticket after selecting him in primary races across the country, and that party “elites” are the ones trying to “push” him to hang up his campaign.
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If the president ultimately decides to hang up his re-election campaign before the Democratic National Convention, where party members would then come up with an alternate nominee, there aren’t any legal pathways to force states to keep his name on the ballot.
The point of waging a potential legal blitz is more about making Democrats scramble in court rather than keeping Biden on the ballot, experts and voting rights groups told The Independent.
A memo drawn up by Heritage’s Oversight Project specifically mentions election rules for candidates in Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin — battleground states that Biden won in 2020 — that the group believes are ripe for litigation.
Even if states required the Democratic Party to certify its nominee before convention, it would likely be unconstitutional under Supreme Court precedent — including in a ruling that involved Trump’s own eligibility for office.
Earlier this year, the justices heard arguments on whether the former president should be disqualified from appearing on Colorado ballots under the 14th Amendment, which bans candidates who participated in insurrection from holding public office.
President Biden has repeatedly argued in interviews and in rally speeches that voters have already made their decision about who should be at the top of the ticket after selecting him in primary races across the country, and that party “elites” are the ones trying to “push” him to hang up his campaign.
The original article contains 1,007 words, the summary contains 231 words. Saved 77%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!