CLIVE, Iowa, Feb. 14 (UPI) — Republican legislators in Arizona and Iowa are considering bills that would keep former President Donald Trump on the ballot, regardless of any criminal convictions or 14th Amendment challenges.
The bills come in response to the legal challenges Trump is facing on multiple fronts as he campaigns for a second term. He faces 91 felony charges in four criminal cases. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether a state can disqualify Trump under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which cites engaging insurrection as grounds. Trump’s role in the Capitol attack of Jan. 6, 2021, is the focus of one of the federal criminal cases against him.
Iowa felons
Iowa Republicans are advancing a bill that would allow felons to appear on the ballot, signaling support for Trump.
Two Democrats walked out of a House subcommittee meeting Tuesday as the panel advanced House Study Bill 697. The bill would make several changes to Iowa elections. Most notably, it would allow Trump to appear on the general election ballot even with a felony conviction.
The bill also passed a senate subcommittee.
Under the current language of the bill, federal candidates convicted of felonies can appear on the ballot.
It would also require absentee ballots to be submitted to the county auditor’s office the day before an election, rather than when polls close on Election Day. Ballot drop boxes and ranked-choice voting would also be banned, though the Secretary of State’s office notes that ranked-choice voting is already banned.
Many of the public comments submitted on the bill concerned the ban of ranked-choice voting, on both sides of the issue.
Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, the Republican who chairs the subcommittee meeting, also served as an adviser to Trump’s campaign in Iowa. Ranking member Rep. Amy Nielsen, D-North Liberty, left the meeting after saying Kaufmann interrupted her while she was speaking. Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, also left.
“It was made pretty clear that what I had to say was not well received, did not want to be heard,” Nielsen said outside of the meeting, The Gazette in Cedar Rapids reported. “If I can’t be heard, why am I here?”
Kaufmann said during the meeting that the decision on who should appear on the ballot should be left to voters.
“It takes quite a lot of nerve to call a bill an election integrity bill, when the point of the bill is to let felons run for office, and particularly someone like Donald Trump, who has so little integrity,” Zabner told reporters.
Arizona measures
Republicans in the Arizona legislature have introduced three bills that would either keep Trump on the ballot, disqualify President Joe Biden or give lawmakers the power to overrule voters.
First is Senate Bill 1158, which states that a candidate for president cannot be removed from the ballot on the basis of a “claimed violation of the 14th Amendment.” This would apply to the official Republican or Democratic nominees and qualified independent and write-in candidates.
The Senate bill has been introduced and assigned to committees for review. The committee on elections advanced the bill in January with five votes in favor, two against and one member not voting.
Earlier this month, Rep. Cory McGarr, R-Tucson, introduced House Bill 2786. Under this bill, if a presidential candidate from one of the two major parties is disqualified in any state for any reason, the nominee from the other party cannot be printed on Arizona’s ballots. If they are printed on the ballot, any votes for that candidate will not be counted.
If this bill were to pass and the Supreme Court upheld Colorado’s decision on Trump’s ballot eligibility, Arizona could remove Biden from the ballot in retaliation. The bill has been read twice in the Senate and assigned to committees.
Republican Sen. Anthony Kern, an alleged “fake elector” for Trump following the 2020 election, filed a bill called Senate Continuing Resolution 1014 this session. This bill would give the state legislature the exclusive authority to select presidential electors.
Kern is under investigation by Arizona’s Attorney General Kris Mayes for allegedly attempting to falsely certify the state’s Electoral College votes in favor of Trump rather than Biden. He also pushed conspiracy theories on social media that the election was stolen and promoted the “stop the steal” movement that precipitated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“It is the responsibility of the Arizona Secretary of State to certify elections, including elections for President of the United States, but the sole authority to appoint presidential electors is granted to the Legislature,” the bill’s text reads.
Under the U.S. Constitution, state political parties are responsible for choosing potential electors. Voters then select which party’s electors are appointed when they vote for the presidential candidate of their choice.
