The liberal group fighting to keep former President Donald Trump off the Michigan ballot in 2024 is appealing a lower court's decision to the Michigan Supreme Court after a judge ruled he could remain on the ballot next year.
Free Speech for People lost its case in Michigan's lower courts after it sued Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to disqualify the former president from the ticket next November under the 14th Amendment, pointing to a section that prohibits a person who has engaged in insurrection from running for federal office. The liberal group is one of several across many states that are seeking to prevent Trump's candidacy based on his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the riot that ensued at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Michigan Court of Claims Judge James Robert Redford threw out the lawsuits to bar Trump from the Republican primary ballot Tuesday. Free Speech for Peace filed an appeal late Thursday afternoon, stating that it is seeking "an immediate and expedited consideration" for appeal and an "emergency application" to bypass the state's appeals court to go directly to the state Supreme Court, according to NBC News.
“It is a virtual certainty that any decision by the Court of Appeals will be appealed to this court by the party that does not prevail,” the filing said. “But with the pressing need to finalize and print the ballots for the presidential primary election, there is not time for considered decisions from both the Court of Appeals and this court. Time is therefore of the essence in this election case.”
