Secretary of State Shirley Weber has downplayed a request from Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis to remove Donald Trump from the California primary ballot, citing “complex legal issues” involved.
“While we can agree that the attack on the Capitol and the former President’s involvement was abhorrent, there are complex legal issues surrounding this matter,” Weber said in a letter on Friday.
On Wednesday Kounalakis called for California to follow Colorado’s lead in removing the former President from the March 5 ballot.
A divided Colorado Supreme Court had ruled 4-3 on Tuesday that Trump is ineligible under the insurrection clause in the post-Civil War 14th Amendment.
“The Colorado decision can be the basis for a similar decision here in our state,” Kounalakis wrote in a letter to Weber. “The Constitution is clear: you must be 35 years old and not be an insurrectionist.”
Kounalakis said “time is of the essence” because certification of the candidates in California’s primary is scheduled for Dec. 28.
Weber said her office was studying the Colorado’s action, but noted that the decision was stayed until Jan. 4 and the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to weigh in.
“I must place the sanctity of these elections above partisan politics,” Weber said, adding that she is “guided by my commitment to follow the rule of law.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom has also downplayed the idea, saying Friday, “There is no doubt that Donald Trump is a threat to our liberties and even to our democracy, but in California, we defeat candidates at the polls. Everything else is a political distraction.”
