Donald Trump's Biggest Ballot Case Hasn't Happened Yet

Former President Donald Trump in 2024 will face a challenge to his eligibility to serve as president that could cost him more than 100 Electoral College votes.

Several challenges to Trump's eligibility to appear on states' primary ballots have been filed as critics argue his alleged role in the January 6, 2021, riot at the United States Capitol building should disqualify him from the ballot. Proponents of removing Trump from ballots argue that his actions surrounding the 2020 election, which he has claimed without evidence was stolen via widespread voter fraud, constitute a violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Trump, however, has argued these challenges are a politically motivated attempt to prevent him from becoming president again.

The 14th Amendment states that no person should hold office who previously "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" after taking an oath to "support the Constitution of the United States."

One challenge filed by Republican presidential candidate John Anthony Castro could result in Trump's removal from several states' ballots ahead of the November election.

The case stems from Castro's ballot challenge in Arizona, a swing state he narrowly lost in the 2020 election. A judge ultimately rejected Castro's lawsuit. But Castro went on to appeal the case to the 9th Circuit of Appeals, which he has previously noted is largely comprised of Democratic-appointed judges.

He told Newsweek on Tuesday that if the appeals court rules in his favor, Trump would lose ballot access in several states, complicating his path to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure a presidential victory.

"If Trump loses in the 9th Circuit, he loses ballot access to the entire western seaboard and would have zero path to obtaining the 270 electoral college votes necessary to win the general election," Castro said. "This is also the strongest factual case because I was on the ballot, the judge took notice of the campaign activities and yard signs in the state, so the appellate record is strong."

The 9th Circuit of Appeals is comprised of Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington—a total of 106 Electoral College votes.

Should Trump be disqualified from these states' ballots, he would have to win every other battleground state, flipping Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin—all states won by Biden in 2020—to eke out an Electoral College victory.

Thus far, two states, Colorado and Maine, have moved to remove him from their primary ballots, citing violations of the 14th Amendment. However, Trump will remain on Colorado's ballot pending an appeal from the state's Republican Party.

Challenges to Trump's ballot eligibility are pending in the following states, according to Lawfare: Alaska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.