Colorado Secretary of State requests more oral argument time in Trump ballot eligibility case

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) requested a larger allotted amount of time for oral arguments in former President Trump’s Supreme Court ballot eligibility case in a Friday filing.

In the filing, Griswold asks for “enlarged” oral argument time on Feb. 8  so that she can get 15 minutes to “convey Colorado’s interests and provide information about Colorado’s election laws.”

“Given the implications this case has on Colorado’s presidential election process, as well as the constitutional protections Colorado’s citizens enjoy, the Secretary provides an important perspective on Colorado’s election laws,” the filing reads.

The highest court in Griswold’s state kicked the former president off of the state’s Republican primary ballot last month under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause” in a 4-3 ruling. The court affirmed Trump engaged in insurrection by inflaming his supporters with false claims of election fraud and directing them to the Capitol.

“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the state Supreme Court wrote in its decision. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”  

The Supreme Court agreed to take up the question of whether Trump could not make it on Colorado’s ballot due to his actions relating to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection earlier this month.

“We welcome a fair hearing at the Supreme Court to argue against the bad-faith, election-interfering, voter-suppressing, Democrat-backed and Biden-led, 14th Amendment abusing decision to remove President Trump’s name from the 2024 ballot in the state of Colorado,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.