A bill sponsored by Democrats in Hawaii that could potentially prevent former President Trump from appearing on the ballot due to his alleged role in inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol has advanced in the state legislature.
Introduced by Hawaii state Sen. Karl Rhoads, a Democrat from Honolulu who frequently criticizes Trump and Republicans for their actions on Jan. 6, SB 2392 seeks to specify that election ballots issued by the chief election officer or county clerk should exclude any candidate disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Article XVI, Section 3 of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii, or other constitutional or statutory provisions.
While the bill doesn’t explicitly mention Trump, similar measures in Maine and Colorado have cited the insurrection clause to bar Trump from their state ballots.
The Hawaii proposal further intends to prevent electors of presidential and vice-presidential candidates from voting for nominees disqualified under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, as determined by any federal court or state supreme court in an election contest.
It also aims to prohibit disqualified candidates from appearing on party ballots for presidential and vice-presidential nominees. The bill successfully passed its first reading on Monday.
Trump’s campaign has consistently framed attempts to block him from the ballot as an effort to disenfranchise American voters. In Maine, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, is appealing a judge’s ruling that temporarily halted her decision to remove Trump from the ballot until the U.S. Supreme Court decides on a similar case in Colorado. Bellows is seeking to ensure Maine’s highest court has the opportunity to weigh in before the March 5 primaries’ ballot counting.
