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Streater, with letter for the Secretary of the State seeking a ruling that "Mr. Trump is ineligible to run for the office of United States President and should not be permitted on any ballot in the State of Connecticut."
A Dixwell/Newhallville alder and a local civil rights lawyer have teamed up to formally ask Connecticut’s top election official to bar Donald Trump from appearing on next year’s presidential primary and general election ballots, given the former president’s role in stoking the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Dixwell/Newhallville Alder Troy Streater and attorney Alex Taubes have mailed a petition to the secretary of the state, Connecticut’s top election administrator, requesting a ruling on whether Trump is constitutionally eligible to run for office in the 2024 presidential elections.
Taubes and Streater cited section three of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states that anyone who has “previously taken an oath, … as an officer of the United States, … to support the Constitution of the United States” and has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” cannot then become an “elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state.” (Congress does have the ability to waive this disqualification with a vote of two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.)
The pair referred to the January 6th Select Committee’s report, which documented the former Republican president’s lies about the 2020 presidential election’s integrity, his numerous efforts to manipulate or suppress election results, and his stoking and encouragement of rioters who stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6 to try to stop Congress’s confirmation of the election’s winner, Joe Biden, as president.
This question has been raised in other states, such as Georgia and Michigan, as well.
“Trump shouldn’t be on the ballot,” Streater said on Thursday afternoon. “The Constitution is clear.”
Referring to the January 6 insurrection, Streater said, “It was shocking that something like that could happen in our time. Trump has done and said things that other presidents wouldn’t think of saying. He acts more like a dictator.”
“We’re asking Stephanie Thomas to approach that courageously and do what’s right and enforce the Constitution,” Taubes said.
According to Taubes, Secretary of the State Thomas has the power to issue either a “declaratory ruling” or a more flexible “advisory opinion” on issues in election law such as this one.
Should Thomas issue a declaratory ruling against Trump’s ability to be elected, as Taubes and Streater have asked her to do, Trump — who is seeking the Republican nomination for president among a crowded field, all as he wades through more and more insurrection-related legal trouble of his own — would have the option to appeal the ruling. If he either fails to appeal or loses the appeal, his name would not appear on the ballot in either the Republican primary or the general election in Connecticut in 2024.
Taubes argued that such an outcome could have repercussions for other states, too, due to collateral estoppel, a legal principle preventing the re-litigation of an issue. Potentially, Taubes said, Trump “could be stopped from being on the ballot anywhere in the U.S.”
Alternatively, Thomas can issue an opinion on the matter and separately determine whether to abide by or ignore that opinion when it comes time to actually administer the 2024 presidential elections. She can also take no action at all.
Taubes and Streater also have the option to pursue their question in court by asking a judge to weigh in. If Thomas doesn’t take action against Trump, Taubes said, “I’ve been known to take a case or two of my own.”
Tara Chozet, the spokesperson for the Secretary of the State’s office, wrote in a statement on Thursday, “Our office is aware of the disqualification question based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. This issue raises questions on federal constitutionality and state election laws. Our election attorneys are reviewing Connecticut’s election laws, over which this office has jurisdiction. We do not have jurisdiction over federal laws and regulations.”
Chozet continued, “We understand the urge to move to a conclusion swiftly, however this is as complex as it is important. It will take diligence to ensure we have the proper interpretation of the applicable laws and regulations.”
A spokesperson for Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign did not respond to a request for comment by the publication time of this article.
The Letter Sent By Streater and Taubes
Dear Secretary of the State,
I am Maceo Troy Streater, Alderman for the 21st Ward of the City of New Haven. I request a ruling with respect to the applicability of the United States Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment, Section Three, to Donald J. Trump, such that Mr. Trump is ineligible to run for the office of United States President and should not be permitted on any ballot in the State of Connecticut.
The Fourteenth Amendment Section Three says:
No person shall be a … elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, … as an officer of the United States, … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Pursuant to Connecticut Agencies Regulations § 3 – 77-22(b)(3), the particular aspect hereof to which the inquiry is directed is whether Donald J. Trump engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.
Our position is that he did engage in insurrection against the United States on January 6, 2021, to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to our President, Joseph R. Biden. Pursuant to § 3 – 77-22(b)(3), the supporting data, facts, and arguments that support our position are contained in the Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, which is publicly available online at the following link: https://govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-REPORT/pdf/GPO-J6-REPORT.pdf.
The evidence of this report is conclusive that Mr. Trump “lit that fire” that occurred that day, and that he was the central cause of the insurrection. As the committee’s vice chairwoman, Republican Liz Cheney of Wyoming, wrote in the report, Mr. Trump is therefore “unfit for any office” under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Pursuant to § 3 – 77-22(b)(4), my name is Maceo Troy Streater, my address is 428 Dixwell Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511, my phone number is (203) 494‑3642, my attorney’s name is Alexander T. Taubes, Esq., his address is 470 James Street, Suite 007, New Haven, CT 06513, and his phone number is (203) 909‑0048. All correspondence regarding this petition can be directed toward him.
If necessary, we request that notice be given to Mr. Trump and that a hearing take place under Connecticut General Statutes §§ 4 – 177 and 4 – 178 for the purposes of fact finding. Because of the Purcell principle, 549 U.S. 1 (2006), we request that you act on this petition immediately.
Sincerely,
Maceo Troy Streater
Alexander T. Taubes
His Attorney–
no matter your view of the candidate or of the people who follow that candidate, disallowing anyone from running is a dangerous move away from democratic principles.
Besides, this is just posturing - Trump has zero chance in CT even if it is against Sleepy Joe.