Colorado to include Trump on 2024 primary ballot as state GOP appeals to Supreme Court
The Colorado secretary of state will include former President Donald Trump on the 2024 Colorado primary ballot after Republicans filed an appeal to the Supreme Court.
On Wednesday, the Colorado GOP filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court after the state Supreme Court's decision to remove Trump from the primary ballot.
Following the appeal, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced that she will include Trump on the primary ballot on the January 5 certification deadline, unless the U.S. Supreme Court affirms the lower court's ruling or declines to take up the case.
COLORADO GOP ASKING US SUPREME COURT TO OVERTURN RULING DISQUALIFYING TRUMP FROM 2024 BALLOT
"Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and was disqualified under the Constitution from the Colorado Ballot," Griswold said in a press release.
"The Colorado Supreme Court got it right. This decision is now being appealed," she continued. "I urge the U.S. Supreme Court to act quickly given the upcoming presidential primary election."
Trump's inclusion on the ballot creates an unprecedented situation for the U.S. Supreme Court amid two dueling rulings — the controversial Colorado ruling and the Michigan Supreme Court's ruling batting down an attempt to remove Trump from the primary ballot there.
The Colorado Supreme Court stayed its ruling until January 4 to allow time for an appeal to its decision.
The two states' contradicting rulings will likely spur the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case, which will set the legal precedent for the rest of the country.
The U.S. Supreme Court has a ticking political time bomb on its hands: the body will have to decide the case before Super Tuesday, March 5.
The deadline, however, comes with a few wrinkles.
According to Griswold's press release, the deadline for 2024 primary ballots to be sent out to military voters is January 20.
Additionally, February 12 is the first day that ballots will be mailed out to voters, and at the end of the month, on February 26, the first day of primary voting takes place.
It is unclear what would happen to any released ballots if the U.S. Supreme Court declines the appeal or doesn't take up the case after they are sent out.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Colorado GOP for comment.
Earlier this month, the Colorado Supreme Court, in a 4-3 vote, overturned a lower court ruling that allowed Trump to appear on the ballot as a presidential candidate. The initial ruling said a president is not among the officials subject to disqualification on a ballot.
On December 19, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Trump is ineligible to appear on the primary ballot due to the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Colorado Supreme Court simultaneously stayed that ruling until January 4, with that stay remaining in place in the event of an appeal.
"By excluding President Trump from the ballot, the Colorado Supreme Court engaged in an unprecedented disregard for the First Amendment right of political parties to select the candidates of their choice and a usurpation of the rights of the people to choose their elected officials," attorneys for the state Republican party wrote in a petition after the December 19 ruling.
Fox News Digital's Kerri Kupec and Louis Casiano contributed reporting.