State officials can keep Trump off the ballot

The good news is that the U.S. Constitution has a solution to prevent a dangerously anti-democratic demagogue like Donald Trump from regaining power. The 14th Amendment explicitly prohibits elected officials who've engaged in insurrection from running for president or serving in any other public office - and state officials have the power and duty to apply the law and deny Trump access to the ballot.

Though state officials already have everything they need to disqualify Trump from the ballot, the latest indictments are shining a light on how wide-ranging Trump's effort to overturn the election really was.

The latest Trump indictment details damning evidence of his guilt. The charges include violating the state's racketeering act, soliciting a public officer to violate their oath, conspiring to impersonate a public officer, conspiring to commit forgery in the first degree, and conspiring to file false documents.

Trump now faces a grand total of 91 felony counts, and the evidence uncovered by the January 6 committee clearly shows that Trump is disqualified from running for president under the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause. To defend the Constitution and our democracy, state election officials must act now to bar him from running.

The 14th Amendment should be applied. Most Americans have no idea that Trump is disqualified. It's up to us to make sure the American people know the truth, and with filing deadlines for 2024 presidential candidates approaching in the next six months, time is of the essence.

Deborah Styka

Addison