The Hawaii state legislature is contemplating a proposed law that might eliminate ex-President Donald Trump from the voting list. This discussion arises concurrently with the U.S. Supreme Court’s deliberation on whether Maine and Colorado possess the legal authority to exclude the former president from their respective primary election rosters.
Senate Bill 2392, which was proposed, successfully advanced through the Hawaii State Senate Judiciary Committee during this week. The voting process was marked by controversy, with only a narrow one-vote margin securing its passage. Its approval by the state Senate committee implies that it will soon undergo a vote by the entire chamber.
If the bill is ratified, it would grant election authorities the discretion to prevent Trump’s inclusion on the ballot owing to his involvement in the January 6, 2021, demonstrations.
Hawaii bill to remove Trump from ballot scrapes by procedural vote https://t.co/AT4DaJY7DB https://t.co/AT4DaJY7DB
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 8, 2024
Senator Karl Rhoads (D) introduced the bill, which stipulates that county clerks or chief election officers must omit any candidate who is deemed ineligible according to constitutional or statutory regulations.
The bill outlined a procedure for contesting the inclusion or exclusion of a candidate on a ballot, incorporating a candidate’s disqualification as a legitimate basis for lodging an election contest complaint. It explicitly states that individuals disqualified by constitutional or statutory provisions cannot serve as electors for presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Additionally, it would prohibit Hawaii’s electors from casting their votes for any presidential or vice-presidential candidate who has been disqualified under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
In a divided decision, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the former president was ineligible for the ballot based on a provision in the 14th Amendment. The court referenced the “insurrection” clause, which prohibits individuals who participated in an insurrection from holding federal office.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows relied on a comparable rationale when opting to remove Trump from the primary election ballot in the state, pending a court appeal. Bellows is presently seeking the intervention of the state’s Supreme Judicial Court to address the matter.
