Nebraskans react to Supreme Court’s ruling on the Trump ballot case

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Nebraskans have mixed feelings about the Supreme Court’s decision to keep former President Donald Trump on the ballot in Colorado.

The court said Monday, in a 9-0 decision, that states do not have the power to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits those who “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding office again.

“I think he should be in the race,” Nebraska voter Cade Fisher said. “I don’t know how I feel about the Supreme Court ruling on that. I’m kind of both ways ’cause it should be a state issue, too. But it’s just going to muddy things up. This election’s going to be weird, so I’m just going to sit back and watch.”

Off camera, Channel 8 spoke with three voters who agreed with the decision and two who disagreed.

Nebraska’s members of Congress praised the high court’s ruling.

“It should be voters who have the ultimate say in who our next President should be,” Sen. Pete Ricketts said in statement. “Liberal judges and bureaucrats have no business trying to force their will on the voters.”

Sen. Deb Fischer called the decision “a victory for our democracy.”

Last week, Illinois became the third state after Colorado and Maine to determine that Trump was ineligible for the 2024 ballot under Section 3. 

A University of Nebraska constitutional law professor said Monday’s ruling should end the ongoing legal dispute nationwide. 

“The court has told us that it is going to be looking for a certain type of legislation from Congress,” Kyle Langvardt said. “That doesn’t just mean that states are excluded from this process; it also means that courts can’t exclude candidates from the ballots in various ways.”