The Supreme Court Renders Its Opinion on the Fourteenth Amendment, Sec. 3: The big winner is The U.S. Constitution, 9-0.
What Does the Supreme Court’s Decision Say?
“Responsibility for enforcing Section 3 (of the fourteenth amendment) against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the states.” The judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court, therefore, cannot stand.”
What does it mean? The Constitution does not give states the right to choose who We the People can vote for. My state was one that not only wanted to decide who I could vote for but also suggested that write-ins would not be counted. Just a few days ago, I showed my Jr. High students an actual ballot. A twelve-year-old asked if voters could write a name in if they didn’t like the other choices. Even children have a sense of their rights as Americans, even at a young age!
Another important consideration: The Supreme Court’s March 4 opinion reinforces the language in the Constitution from 150 years ago. Recently, we discussed here on this page that if you change the language, you change the culture. This latest opinion doesn’t contradict the post-Civil War language because it says what it means.
The Clarity of the Supreme Court’s Opinion
Today’s SCOTUS couldn’t make its statement any clearer; the responsibility for enforcing Fourteenth Amendment section 3 is the sole responsibility of Congress. States cannot take a national candidate off the ballot. Congress alone has that right. Why is this? We the People elect Senators and Representatives to represent us in Congress. State officials don’t represent its citizens in federal matters. See the Tenth Amendment, a part of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution.
Is This Decision a Threat to Democracy?
Abiding by the rule of law is not a threat to democracy in a Constitutional Republic. However, it is a threat to the Republic if the citizens cannot choose who is on the ballot. The ballot is not concerned with feelings; rather, it is a function of the rule of law.
The big winner in this decision is the U. S. Constitution— and We the People.
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship.🇺🇸
To view my most recent article with commentary on the Fourteenth Amendment, go to: https://civicsandcitizenship.org/interpreting-the-constitution-what-did-the-founders-intend/
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