Missouri's Republican Secretary of State, Jay Ashcroft, has recently threatened to potentially remove President Biden from the state's 2024 presidential ballot in retaliation for rulings made in Maine and Colorado. These rulings deem that former President Donald Trump's actions leading up to the Capitol Hill insurrection disqualify him from the primary ballot. Ashcroft expressed his discontent on a social media platform, stating that he finds these decisions disgraceful and believes they undermine the integrity of the Republic.
In his recent appearance, Ashcroft provided his legal reasoning behind his opposition to the judgments in Maine and Colorado. He strongly criticized the decision made in Maine, where an appointed bureaucrat, rather than a court or an elected statewide official, unilaterally decided to remove an opposition candidate from the ballot. Ashcroft viewed this as an act in direct violation of due process and emphasized that the Maine state constitution mandates that the Secretary of State holds a hearing to evaluate a candidate's eligibility.
However, Ashcroft's argument was countered by the fact that the Maine state constitution does indeed require a hearing to determine whether a candidate can be placed on the ballot. To this, Ashcroft retorted that he would not be satisfied with such a process if one of his hypothetical children were being prosecuted for a crime in Maine. He maintained that the United States Constitution provides criteria for individuals to run for president, and the states are not authorized to add conditions beyond that. Ashcroft cited multiple Supreme Court rulings to support his stance.
Turning his attention to the case in Colorado, Ashcroft argued that due process was once again absent. He claimed that the president was not given the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses or summon witnesses in his favor. Moreover, Ashcroft asserted that hearsay evidence was allowed during the proceedings. He maintained that the former president had not been convicted by a competent court for insurrection, and therefore, the 14th Amendment did not apply. Ashcroft firmly believes that these decisions by Maine and Colorado set a dangerous precedent of allowing secretaries of state to arbitrarily bar political parties or individuals they disagree with from the ballot.
While it is true that the former president's legal team had the opportunity to participate in the hearing in both Colorado and Maine, Ashcroft contended that they chose not to present evidence to the secretary of state in Maine. He reiterated his concern that these decisions could lead to both Republicans and Democrats facing similar exclusion based on personal biases. Ashcroft maintained that secretaries of state should not have the authority to make such determinations, but if they do, it must be applied impartially.
