Secretaries of State cannot decide if Trump is disqualified to be on their ballots until

[ancianita]

Trump is ruled by the DC jury to to have broken the 14th Amendment, Sec. 3 -- "who, having previously taken an oath,...shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof...." After reading Smith's indictment, I can't find where he gave aid or comfort.

The only person who's been banned from office by state law and the US Constitution was Couy Griffin. But that state, New Mexico, had a state law supporting a legal process for that decision. Not all states do. And elections laws are decided by the states.

So the DC court had better get on with Jack Smith's trial on March 4 2024. Otherwise, any Sec. of State refusal to put Trump on the ballot can be sued by citizens as political and/or "improper."

Still, even if this jury decision might help secretaries of state decide when/if Trump IS found guilty, it might not really be about giving aid & comfort of an insurrection. And so a state refusal to have him on state ballots means, according to Joyce Vance, that the decision is not final and could end up in the SCOTUS.

Which is why, despite public discussion, and even pressures, we're not seeing decisions by secretaries of state right now.