Full List of States Wanting to Kick Biden Off the Ballot

Several Republican officials have voiced support for removing President Joe Biden from their state's ballot in the 2024 race after Colorado and Maine moved to challenge Donald Trump's candidacy in the GOP primary.

Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump's actions in connection with the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol—when his supporters violently protested the 2020 election results and tried to block Biden's Electoral College certification—constituted a violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The court therefore decided he should not appear on the state's Republican primary ballot.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows also removed the former president from the primary ballot, citing the 14th Amendment section. Trump is expected to remain on Colorado's primary ballot as the U.S. Supreme Court hears his appeal of the ruling.

The 14th Amendment states that anyone who takes an oath to defend the Constitution and then engages in "insurrection or rebellion" is not permitted to hold "any office, civil or military, under the United States."

Following Trump's removal from the two states' primary ballots, some Republicans are urging conservative-leaning states to remove Biden from their ballot. Statewide officials in three states have indicated they are considering doing so ahead of the November election.

While Colorado and Maine removed Trump from the primary ballot, it is not clear whether Republican officials want to remove Biden from the Democratic primary or general election ballot.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek that there is "no basis" for removing Biden from the presidential ballot in any state.

"No judge in their right mind would entertain these tit-for-tat antics by elected officials who have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution," he said.

Rahmani dismissed Republicans' claims that Biden's handling of the surge of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border could be used to remove him. He said this does not constitute an insurrection, which would be a "violent uprising against the government."

"Biden's alleged failure to secure the border isn't an insurrection, and even if it were, Biden didn't engage in it for the purposes of the 14th Amendment," Rahmani said.

Newsweek reached out to the Biden campaign for comment via email.

Texas

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has floated removing Biden from the state's ballot, citing his handling of the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, during a Fox News interview in December.

"Seeing what happened in Colorado makes me think—except we believe in democracy in Texas—maybe we should take Joe Biden off the ballot in Texas for allowing 8 million people to cross the border since he's been president, disrupting our state," he said.

Patrick has not taken any official action to remove Biden from the ballot.

Missouri

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has suggested he may move to have Biden removed from the state's ballot if the Supreme Court allows the Colorado and Maine decisions to stand.

"What has happened in Colorado & Maine is disgraceful & undermines our republic. While I expect the Supreme Court to overturn this, if not, Secretaries of State will step in & ensure the new legal standard for @realDonaldTrump applies equally to @JoeBiden," Ashcroft wrote in a post to X (formerly Twitter) on January 5.

He defended this stance during a Monday interview on CNN.

"There have been allegations that he has engaged in insurrection," he said, pointing to allegations he said have been made by Patrick. It is not clear what specific allegations about Biden he was referring to.

Florida

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is challenging Trump in the Republican presidential primary, has also said his state may consider removing Biden from the ballot.

"This is just going to be a tit for tat, and it's just not going to end well," he said during a campaign event last week. "You could make a case, and we're actually—I'm actually—looking at this in Florida now. Could we make a credible case [against] Biden because of the invasion of 8 million [migrants]? Again, I don't think that's the right way to do it."

Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania

A coalition of conservative lawmakers from Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania, three critical swing states in the general election, have signaled they plan to try to remove Biden from their state's ballot.

Aaron Bernstine of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Cory McGarr of the Arizona House of Representatives and Charlice Byrd of the Georgia House of Representatives wrote in a statement that Biden is "100% not eligible to run for political office," according to Democrats' interpretation of the law.

"Democrats' insane justification to remove Trump can just as easily be applied to Joe Biden for his 'insurrection' at the southern border and his alleged corrupt family business dealings with China," they wrote.

Red States Reject Biden Removal Bids

Meanwhile, some Republican officials have rejected efforts to have Biden removed from the state ballot. One of them, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, said she does not believe she has the authority to do so.

"The process that the [Supreme Court] has is a balance to our federal government, it is a balance to our executive branch and balance to our legislative branch. So us exerting this kind of influence on the Court and their decisions to take that kind of action is really unprecedented," Noem said during a Fox News interview last month.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall told state news website 1819 News that he views the Colorado decision as "judicial activism," but he has "no plans" to remove Biden from the state's ballot.

Update 1/9/24, 12:25 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comments from former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani.