Secretary of state says he can’t bar him in Ariz.
Mary Jo Pitzl
Arizona Republic
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said he does not have the authority to bar Donald Trump from the Arizona ballot next year, despite renewed interest in a provision of the U.S. Constitution that allows disqualification.
Fontes’ comments come as some legal scholars and nonprofit organizations are promoting the notion that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires ballot disqualification for anyone who has previously taken the oath of a public office and engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” against the government. They argue that applies to Trump.
But that can’t happen under Arizona law, Fontes, the state’s chief elections officer, said in an interview with The Gaggle, the politics podcast of The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com.
An Arizona Supreme Court ruling last year concluded that only Congress has the authority to enforce what is called the Disqualification Clause.
Not that Fontes, a Democrat, agrees
with the ruling. He called the Supreme Court’s decision “dead, flat wrong” but said he has a duty to follow the law.
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