Sec. of State Weber Allows Trump To Remain On 2024 Primary Ballot in California

Secretary of State Shirley Weber officially allowed former President Donald Trump to be on the March 5, 2024 primary ballot on Thursday, keeping him on the official list of candidates despite a second state, Maine, removing Trump from their ballot earlier in the day.

Since November, multiple states have, either through political or legal means, challenged the inclusion of Trump on their respective state ballots over the insurrectionist clause of the 14th amendment.  In early November, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected such a claim because there was no state statute that prohibited such an action. A month later, Arizona came to a similar decision. Then, on December 19th, the Colorado Supreme Court controversially ruled 4-3 to ban Trump from the ballot. In the last few days, Michigan rejected such an action while Maine ruled in favor of a ban.

However, for the last few weeks, all eyes have been on California, with many expecting multiple states to follow California in their decision due to the state’s influence. Spurred by the Colorado decision, Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis wrote a letter to Secretary of State Shirley Weber urging her to do everything to keep Trump off the California ballot in 2024. While Kounalakis expected to have major support coming her way as a result, Kounalakis received more flak by  having a fresh recall effort being put out against her.

Notably, in the California Assembly, three Republican members sent a letter to the Secretary of State, calling on Weber to ignore Lt. Gov. Kounalakis’ letter, informing the SOS that she does not have the unilateral authority to remove a Candidate for the Office of the President from the California ballot.

Then, both Governor Gavin Newsom and Secretary Weber announced they also opposed efforts to remove Donald Trump’s name from the California ballot.

“There is no doubt that Donald Trump is a threat to our liberties and even to our democracy,” Newsom said in a statement before Christmas. “But in California, we defeat candidates at the polls. Everything else is a political distraction.”

Weber added in a letter to Kounalakis, “There are complex legal issues surrounding this matter. The former President’s conduct tainted and continues to sow the public’s mistrust in government and the legitimacy of elections, so it is more important than ever to safeguard elections in a way that transcends political divisions.”

Trump to remain on California ballot

Despite this, many Democrats in the state hoped that Weber could reverse her stance before her decision was due on Thursday. But this plan failed, with the official candidate list being released on Thursday with Trump on it. While a statement on his inclusion was expected, Weber released the list with only a boilerplate announcement on the release of the ballot candidates.

“I, Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., Secretary of State of the State of California, do hereby certify that the following list contains the name of each presidential candidate who is entitled to be voted for in the Democratic, Republican, American Independent, Libertarian, Green, and Peace and Freedom parties’ Presidential Primary Elections to be held on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, and that no uncommitted delegations or groups of candidates for delegates have filed or qualified,” wrote Weber.

While California’s decision isn’t being officially challenged yet, Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) said that he would be introducing a ballot eligibility bill next year. Conversely, both Colorado and Maine have already been challenged, with a Maine lawmaker even looking to impeach the Secretary of State for her role in knocking Trump off the ballot.

“Maine was a little of a surprise,” said Laura Glover, a political science professor and researcher who focuses on elections, to the Globe. “If it was any state, people thought it would have been California joining Colorado. Maine tends to split electoral votes between candidates since only them and Nebraska are the only states that can do that in the presidential election. Maine can be split and isn’t true blue, so we thought it wouldn’t happen. Well, we were wrong. California kept their word and allowed Trump on the ballot and Maine didn’t. For now.”

“States will be looking at the two though. Right now, four states are keeping Trump on for sure, with two not. And if California is allowing it, other states may be put off now. You know, true blue California is allowing him to stay. That’s disheartening to a lot of efforts. Although with Maine that could be different. We’ll know more going into the new year.”

More suits and state leadership decisions regarding Trump on the 2024 ballot are likely to come in soon.