Scott Schwab urges SCOTUS to take action on 14th Amendment controversy

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab has joined other top state officials in filing a petition to the nation’s highest court over former President Donald Trump’s current bid for the presidency.

On Friday, Schwab joined other secretaries of state from around the country in filing an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to narrowly define who can disqualify a presidential candidate from ballot access under the 14th Amendment. This amicus brief was filed ahead of an upcoming hearing on whether Trump can be denied access to the Colorado ballot.

SCOTUS agreed to take up the case for whether or not Trump could be disqualified from appearing on the Colorado Ballot on Jan. 5. The Colorado Supreme Court declared Trump to be ineligible for the White House due to language in the 14th Amendment late last year. The state of Maine followed shortly after with a similar declaration.

The amicus brief filed to SCOTUS urges the court to specifically determine that secretaries of state lack the authority to determine when the 14th Amendment should be invoked. Schwab argues that the amendment was adopted after the Civil War to prevent Confederates from serving as president due to their role in fighting the Union.

The brief is signed by Schwab, along with the secretaries of state from nine other states. A full copy of the brief can be found by clicking here or by looking at the document below: