(LifeSiteNews) — Another attempt to boot President Donald Trump from a presidential ballot has failed, this time in the state of Washington.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Mary Sue Wilson threw out a challenge from a public school teacher and other citizens who tried to have the former president kept off the ballot for the March 12 state primary. The legal team reportedly filed only a one-paragraph objection.
Judge Wilson’s January 18 decision does not prevent a challenge to Trump being on the general election ballot, an issue to be taken up by the Supreme Court of the United States on February 8.
“The Kitsap County residents had pushed for Trump’s removal from the ballot, arguing that his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol constitute an insurrection and make him ineligible for office,” The Seattle Times reported. “A Kitsap County judge, earlier this week, said the case should be heard in Thurston County, home of the state Capitol.”
Judge Wilson, appointed to the seat by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, said she is only allowed to rule on whether there were any errors in the candidacy filings.
David Vogel, the attorney who represented the challenges to Trump’s candidacy, said his clients need to “beef up the affidavit for the general election” in order to keep the former president off the ballot.
Barring a come-from-behind victory from former Ambassador Nikki Haley, Trump is likely to be the GOP nominee, as both Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have dropped out in the past week. Both have endorsed Trump.
Washington’s secretary of state has declined to get personally involved in removing a presidential candidate from the ballot and thanked the judge for a quick ruling so ballot printing could finalize.
“I am grateful that Judge Wilson ruled in such a timely and well-considered fashion, and that she recognized that I and my staff have been working in full compliance with state law governing the Presidential Primary,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in a news release. “We will continue working with our partners in county elections offices to get all the necessary materials for this election to every Washington voter.”
Leftist legal scholars, and some right-leaning professors, want Trump off ballot for ‘insurrection’
The loss in the courts is another setback for legal scholars and activists who seek to deprive voters of the chance to vote on whether Trump should be the Republican nominee. A longshot Republican candidate, who has stated he is only running to have standing to keep Trump off the ballot, also lost a federal court challenge in Nevada several weeks ago, as previously reported by LifeSiteNews.
Nevada District Court Judge Gloria Navarro tossed a lawsuit from John Anthony Castro that sought to keep Trump off the presidential ballot by claiming he was guilty of an ‘insurrection,'” LifeSiteNews reported January 10.
Judge Navarro ruled Castro lacked standing and noted he publicly admitted he was only running so he could try to get Trump booted off the ballot. Castro claimed an “injury” that gave him standing, because he said he would receive more votes if Trump was taken off the ballot, though he is not registering support in polls.
He also, as Navarro wrote, has lost at least five other lawsuits making similar claims.
The idea of kicking Trump off the ballot has garnered some support from leftist legal scholars as well as professors affiliated with the right-leaning Federalist Society, as LifeSiteNews has previously reported.
The idea is that Trump is guilty of an “insurrection” because of his actions on January 6, 2021 (even though he never engaged in any armed rebellion, he was the sitting president, and he specifically told people to be peaceful). Libertarian law professor Ilya Somin has also celebrated the decision to keep Trump off the ballot. “I hope U.S. Supreme Court will affirm!” Somin wrote about Colorado’s decision to keep Trump off the ballot.
However, center-left legal scholar Jonathan Turley has compared the idea with an urban legend.
“Constitutional urban legends often have an even more immediate appeal and tend to arise out of the desperation of divided times. One of the most popular today is that former President Donald Trump can be barred from office, even if he is not convicted in any of the four indictments he faces, under a long-dormant clause of the 14th Amendment,” the George Washington University professor previously wrote for The Hill.