New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan was asked to investigate whether Donald Trump could be kept off the New Hampshire ballot for things he’d neither been tried nor convicted. It was a stupid ask, but Scanlan honored the request anyway. His response is … diplomatic.
“There is no mention in the New Hampshire state statute that a candidate in a New Hampshire presidential primary can be disqualified using the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution mentioning insurrection or rebellion,” he told news outlets in a statement. “There is nothing in the 14th Amendment that suggests that exercising the provisions of that amendment should take place during the delegate selection process held by the different states.” …
Mr. Scanlan said that “nothing in our state statue that gives the secretary of state the discretion in entertaining qualification issues once a candidate swears under the penalty of perjury that they meet the qualifications to be president.” He added that once the candidate applies according to the proper procedures, their name “will appear on the ballot.”
He is saying that I, as Secretary of State (SoS), have no legal ground to stand on, but I have a feeling that we’d get a different answer if our SoS was that wacky Dem Colin Van Ostern. Van Ostern stepped up for a shot at the gig two sessions back, but the legislature did not pick him. Had they, he’d likely still be in the job. New Hampshire Secretary of State has a hired-for-life feel that matches only Supreme Court Justices.
That’s a trend unlikely to last, but Scanlan’s response suggests he’d like to remain neutral and so-employed, not that Democrats won’t call him a Trump stooge for following the law. The never-Trumpers might also be miffed, but that didn’t stop Scanlen from expanding on his point.
“At a time when we need U.S. election officials to ensure transparency and build confidence among voters around the country, the delegate selection process should not be the battleground to test this constitutional question,” he added.
A brief note to other states. Whatever you are doing, regardless of if I agree, this isn’t the place to do it. Besides, as I noted here,
Trump running in New Hampshire is good for political tourism. You may not like him, but he will draw a small fortune that fills hotels and restaurants and lights a fire under the local economy. Trump on the Ballot is good for New Hampshire.
And Trump is only ahead about 50 points nationally, though much less in NH, which is also good for New Hampshire. A tighter race makes things exciting and amps up political tourism, which these days might be the only value we get out of any of this.
HT | ZeroHedge
