Trump opponents in Massachusetts lose attempt to remove former president from ballot

Opponents of former President Trump have failed in their attempt to keep the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination off the primary ballot in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission on Monday dismissed the challenge against Trump, stating that its panel found that it did not have jurisdiction over the matter, Boston 25 News reported.

Republican Party of Massachusetts Chair Amy Carnevale praised the dismissal of what she called an “ill-conceived effort” to weaken American democracy.

“I applaud this decision to allow actual voters to choose their nominee,” Carnevale posted on X. “(Imagine that!) The ill-conceived effort by career plaintiff lawyers would have undercut our system of democracy. The decision of who MA should choose as the nominee will now rely squarely w/ voters.”

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Despite efforts to keep Trump off Republican presidential primary ballots, former President Trump remains a frontrunner for the GOP nomination. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Massachusetts is one of more than a dozen other states to have challenged Trump’s eligibility to appear on election ballots for the primary or general elections after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

The challenges rely on the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits anyone from holding office who previously has taken an oath to defend the Constitution and then later “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the country or given “aid or comfort” to its enemies.

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In December, the Colorado Supreme Court disqualified Trump from appearing on the state’s ballots in 2024.

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Trump appealed the ruling, and now the U.S. Supreme Court will decide on the matter. 

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The former president also appealed a ruling by Maine’s secretary of state barring him from the state’s primary ballot. 

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Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court said it will not consider the matter until the high court issues its own decision in the related case out of Colorado.

Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and The Associated Press contributed to this report.