(NewsNation) — Time is ticking for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the Donald Trump ballot controversy.
The justices are set to hold a regularly scheduled conference day Friday, the same day Colorado election officers asked for the case there to be settled as the state prints its primary ballots.
The Colorado Republican Party has asked the Supreme Court to review the case and it could be up to the justices to determine if the 14th Amendment, Section 3, applies to the former president and whether he took part in an insurrection on Jan. 6.
The section was put in place around the Civil War in 1868, meant to keep former Confederates from gaining power.
The Colorado Supreme Court and Maine’s Secretary of State declared Trump ineligible to run for the White House this year.
These decisions have led to a lot of debate.
“Maine voters should decide who wins the election — not a Secretary of State chosen by the Legislature,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, posted to social media. “The Secretary of State’s decision would deny thousands of Mainers the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice, and it should be overturned.”
However, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows defended her decision on NewsNation.
“My sole obligation and responsibility in this matter is to the Constitution and to the record put forward at the hearing. I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and that is what I have done. My political affiliation and my personal views of the events of Jan. 6 played no role in my decision,” Bellows said.
Other states have similar ballot challenges against Trump.
According to Lawfare, 11 states have pending cases and two others have pending appeals over whether Trump’s involvement during Jan. 6 can be considered taking part in what’s being called by Colorado and Maine as an insurrection.
Other states dismissed similar efforts, including Michigan, where courts said the Republican Party can put anyone it wants on a primary ballot.
The former president nominated three of the current justices on the Supreme Court, but it remains unknown when the High Court could weigh in and how exactly those justices will side.
