Michigan could be the next state to remove Trump from its ballot
- The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Trump can't appear on its ballot.
- The decision will likely be appealed, but it does pose a risk for Trump in other states.
Colorado might not be the only state to prohibit former President Donald Trump from being on the 2024 presidential ballot.
The Colorado Supreme Court disqualified Trump from the state's ballot on Tuesday evening, siding with a lower state court's ruling that the 45th president violated the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution on January 6, 2021. The decision does not go into effect until January 2024, giving Trump's campaign weeks to appeal.
Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame's Law School, told the Associated Press that the state supreme court's decision poses a "major threat" to Trump's 2024 campaign.
"I think it may embolden other state courts or secretaries to act now that the bandage has been ripped off," he said.
Colorado was the first state to bar Trump from being on the ballot, but it's not the only one that's seen similar legal challenges.
The Minnesota Supreme Court, for example, was presented earlier in the year with a similar opportunity, though it ruled in favor of Trump.
The state of Michigan also received a challenge from the same group behind Minnesota's attempt: Free Speech For People. Though a state court previously ruled in favor of Trump, the group appealed the case on Monday to the Michigan Supreme Court, which has four Democratic-leaning judges along with three Republican ones.
Trump being barred from Michigan's ballot would be a major boon for the Democratic Party, especially if President Joe Biden is Trump's opposition, as Biden only won the state in 2020 by less than 3 percentage points.
Following the Colorado Supreme Court's decision, experts — Muller included — told Business Insider there's a high likelihood the US Supreme Court will take up the case, though it's unclear how the majority-conservative court will rule.