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With challenges to Donald Trump’s presidential eligibility pending across the country, yet another state is facing the issue – this time in Washington. The Seattle Times reported that residents raised the challenge to Trump’s place on the ballot ahead of the state’s March 12 presidential primary.
A hearing was apparently going to take place Tuesday before a state judge, but the judge reportedly said the challenge should be heard in a different county. So while it’s unclear how that state system will ultimately address the issue, the possibility of Trump being off the ballot in another jurisdiction — potentially joining decisions in Maine and Colorado against the leading GOP candidate — makes the U.S. Supreme Court’s role in settling the issue nationwide only more important. The justices are reviewing the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling against Trump, and their forthcoming decision can resolve the constitutional matter under the 14th Amendment. Briefs are being filed ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments that are set for Feb. 8, with Trump’s brief due Thursday.
Washington’s secretary of state, Steve Hobbs, said in a statement that his state’s process “gives the courts an important role in answering questions about eligibility. I look forward to having this question resolved in a timely fashion.”
However and whenever that state’s courts resolve the issue, it’s all happening in the shadow of the U.S. Supreme Court, which could affect what happens not only in Washington state but across the country.
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