Former President Donald Trump will appear on the Republican presidential primary ballot in New York on April 2, state election officials said at a meeting to set the upcoming ballot on Tuesday.
The move from the state Board of Elections comes after several state Democratic lawmakers sent the board a letter in December urging election officials to ban Trump from the ballot for his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. A majority of New York City councilmembers sent a similar request last month.
The state lawmakers claim Trump violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which bars someone who has “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.
Republican state election officials said removing Trump from the ballot was beyond their authority, since no formal objections had been filed detailing “the specific deficiency” in Trump’s request for ballot access.
Board of Elections staff noted that only the board’s Republican commissioners could determine if candidates who requested ballot access met the criteria of being “nationally known” and having a candidacy that is seriously recognized.
“These rules are in place to provide due process to all candidates so that they have an opportunity to answer any objections made to their candidacy and to ensure that all candidates and objectors are held to the same standard,” said Peter Kosinski, the Board of Elections’ Republican co-chair. “We cannot act unless the standards are met. That would be a violation of the election law.”
No Democratic commissioners participated in the vote.
Under state law, Republican and Democratic commissioners set the primary ballots for their respective parties.
State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who represents Manhattan’s West Side, said he still plans to file a general objection with the state Board of Elections over Trump’s candidacy and appearance on the ballot. Hoylman-Sigal said he may move ahead with a court filing as needed.
“Donald Trump is an…
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