Hearing to Determine Former President Donald Trump’s Appearance on Massachusetts Primary Ballot

A hearing is scheduled to take place on Thursday to decide whether former President Donald Trump will be included on the Massachusetts primary ballot. The state’s ballot law commission will convene to review objections raised by a group of voters who appealed against Trump’s presence on the ballot last month.

Last Thursday, Free Speech For People and Massachusetts-based civil rights firm Lichten & Liss-Riordan filed an objection with the Massachusetts Ballot Law Commission, requesting the removal of Trump’s name from the ballot. The objection is based on section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits the election of individuals who have previously engaged in insurrection or rebellion while under oath of office.

In a press release, Ron Fein, legal director at Free Speech For People, stated, “Donald Trump violated his oath of office and incited a violent insurrection that attacked the U.S. 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. Our predecessors understood that oath-breaking insurrectionists will do it again, and worse if allowed back into power, so they enacted the Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause to protect the republic from people like Trump. Trump is legally barred from the ballot, and election officials must follow this constitutional mandate.”

A decision regarding Trump’s inclusion on the ballot needs to be reached before the March primary.