Dec.28

electoral-vote.com

Dem 51

   

GOP 49

Michigan Supreme Court Allows Trump to Remain on Primary Ballot

Yesterday, in a result that was widely expected, the Michigan Supreme Court ordered that Donald Trump remain on Michigan's primary ballot.

This is generally being described as a "win" for the former president, and it is, but it's a very limited one, for the following reasons (and thanks to reader R.E.M. in Brooklyn, NY, for assisting with this section):

• The Supreme Court did not actually rule in the case; it merely declined to review a lower court's ruling.
  
  
• The lower court's ruling was based entirely on state law, and did not engage with questions of whether Trump engaged in insurrection, or whether presidents are bound by Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
  
  
• The ruling applies only to the primary ballot. It is entirely possible for the plaintiffs to bring suit again, for the general election ballot, when a different set of Michigan laws would be in play.

And really, the most important issue—whether Trump "wins" in a state (as in Michigan) or he "loses" (as in Colorado)—is that the U.S. Supreme Court is going to have to step in and settle these questions. So, all that state-level rulings, regardless of their outcome, really do is turn up the heat on the Supremes. In other words, stay tuned. (Z)