An Albany County, Wyoming, judge dismissed a complaint that sought to remove former President Donald Trump — the leading Republican presidential candidate — from the ballot in the Cowboy State, citing Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The lawsuit, which Judge Misha Westby dismissed on Friday as Fox News reported, was brought by retired attorney Tim Newcomb and mirrored arguments in efforts to take Trump off the ballot in other states, including Colorado and Maine.
Specifically, the complaint contended that Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment barred both Trump and Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) “from appearing on Wyoming ballots unless Congress removes such disability by a vote of two-thirds of each House.” It argued that Trump failed to uphold the “Constitution’s transfer of presidential power under Article II. Section I,” therefore disqualifying him from the ballot while Lummis “disqualified herself from appearing on Wyoming’s ballot when she refused to count Pennsylvania’s electoral ballots to the electoral count required by Article II, Section 1.”
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray, the defendant in the case, expressed his joy with the dismissal of Newcomb’s “repugnant” lawsuit in a release shared with Fox News.
“I am extremely pleased with Judge Westby’s decision to dismiss Mr. Newcomb’s outrageously wrong and repugnant lawsuit to remove Donald Trump and Cynthia Lummis from the ballot in Wyoming,” Gray said.
He also slammed similar efforts to take Trump off the ballots in other states and pledged to work against the nationwide initiative, which has ramped up as Trump dominates President Joe Biden in the polls:
I have been working to make sure that Donald Trump will be able to be on the ballot, and I am happy our motion to dismiss this lawsuit was granted. I will continue to fight against this nationwide effort in order to protect the integrity of our elections and ensure that the people of Wyoming can choose who to elect for themselves.
In her own statement to Fox News, Lummis said she was “glad this frivolous lawsuit… was dismissed.”
“Efforts to remove candidates from the ballot are a direct attack on the freedom of voters to choose their elected officials and undermines the integrity of our elections,” she added.
Elsewhere — including in Colorado and Maine — plans to remove Trump from the ballot hinge on rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision to remove Trump from the ballot, but the order has been stayed amid challenges from Trump’s legal team and the Colorado Republican Party. Similarly, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows cited the Insurrection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment in ruling Trump is ineligible for Maine’s ballots. However, Trump’s team has challenged the ruling, and her order will not take effect until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in.
The case is Newcomb v. Gray, No. 2023-cv-36100, in District Court for the Second Judicial District of Albany County, Wyoming.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.