Nine California Lawmakers Ask Attorney General to Exclude Trump From GOP Ballot Due to 14th Amendment 

Nine lawmakers from California on Monday asked the state attorney general to seek a court opinion on whether former President Donald Trump can be excluded from the GOP’s ballot in the upcoming election. 

In a letter to Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta, the nine lawmakers, all Democrats, pointed to the third section of the 14th amendment, which bars former officials from holding office again if they engaged in or aided an insurrection. 

One of the lawmakers, Democratic State Assembly Member Evan Low, wrote that “multiple courts have already declared the events of that day an insurrection" on Jan. 6, 2021.” 

"Whatever the courts decide it is important that they do so quickly to avoid further political strife, and the Attorney General is uniquely positioned to get the American people the answers we need to protect our Republic.” 

The lawmakers argue that Bonta’s position gives him the ability to ask for the court’s opinion “to confirm Mr. Trump’s ability to hold office given these facts” and they are now requesting him to intervene.  

In a statement to the Oakland-based news outlet KTVU, Bonta's office acknowledged the existence of the letter and said it would review it internally. 

“There is no denying that Donald Trump has engaged in behavior that is unacceptable and unbecoming of any leader — let alone a president of the United States. Beyond that, we have no additional comment."

California is now the second state to request that the former president be removed from the ballots due to the section. 

The Messenger recently completed a broad survey of elections administrators and at least six say they may consider it. 

In April, Trump was indicted on four felony charges for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the violent riot by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol in an unprecedented effort to block the peaceful transfer of presidential power and threaten American democracy.

Groups in Minnesota and Colorado have sued to block the former president from the ballot, while officials in New Hampshire have said that Trump will remain eligible there.