(ConservativeSense.com) – Wisconsin has thwarted efforts to remove Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballots. A Madison voter filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission in December, arguing that the former President should not be included because he is guilty of insurrection for his actions on January 6, 2021. The complaint was thrown out, and a commission spokesperson said the reason was ethical.
The initial complaint came from local brewery owner Kirk Bangstad, who contended that Trump’s involvement on January 6 meant he did not fulfill all of the criteria required to serve as President of the United States. Commission spokesperson Riley Vetterkind said the filing was rejected without consideration, however, as it “warrants an ethical recusal by the body.”
Bangstad used the same argument that has successfully removed Trump from the ballot in other states.
The first was Colorado in December, when its Supreme Court ruled he was disqualified from the presidency because the 14th Amendment disallows those guilty of insurrection from holding high office. The Colorado GOP immediately filed an appeal with the US Supreme Court, and on December 28, Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced Trump was back on the ballot while a Supreme Court ruling was awaited.
Officials in California attempted to exclude the former president days later, but Governor Gavin Newsom opposed the move, saying, “In California, we defeat candidates at the polls.”
Days after that, Maine’s Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, used the 14th Amendment to block Trump’s inclusion on that state’s ballot paper. She said she understood the move was unprecedented, but “no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”
Bellows’s home was later targeted in a so-called “swatting” incident, but police found no cause for alarm. “Swatting” occurs when a prank caller calls authorities to alert them to a crime at a specific location, but no crime has occurred. The Secretary of State later told CNN that she had also received “threatening communications.”
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