Massachusetts voters seek to keep Trump off state’s 2024 primary ballot News
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Massachusetts voters seek to keep Trump off state’s 2024 primary ballot

Massachusetts voters filed an objection on Thursday to the state official responsible for overseeing elections seeking to remove former US President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 Republican primary ballot. Their efforts join with several others after Maine and Colorado already agreed to remove Trump from their respective ballots.

In Thursday’s filing to the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission, Free Speech For People and a Massachusetts-based civil rights firm contended that the Republican front-runner had, “through his words and actions, after swearing an oath as an officer of the United States to support the Constitution, engaged in insurrection or rebellion, or gave aid and comfort to its enemies, as defined by Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Consequently, they argue that Trump should be disqualified from holding office. The challengers span across the political spectrum with Republicans, Independents and Democrats among their ranks. This group also includes former Boston Mayor Kim Janey.

Legal Director at Free Speech For People Ron Fein said:

Donald Trump violated his oath of office and incited a violent insurrection that attacked the US Capitol, threatened the assassination of the Vice President and congressional leaders, and disrupted the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation’s history.

Free Speech For People on Thursday also filed a similar challenge in Illinois asking the Illinois Board of Elections to bar Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot.

The challenges come as Trump’s legal team is in the process of appealing decisions from Maine and Colorado that exclude him from the primary ballot. The Oregon Supreme Court could also soon decide to remove Trump from the state’s ballot. Judges in Michigan and Minnesota recently dismissed efforts to prevent Trump from being included on their respective primary ballots over similar claims.

The US Supreme Court has yet to address Trump’s legal challenges to the rulings against him.

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