Supreme Court Divided on Key Issue in Trump Ballot Case Despite Unanimous Ruling

The justices unanimously ruled that the former president can appear. But there was a key division.

Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for their official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington on Oct. 7, 2022. (Front L–R) Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Samuel Alito and Justice Elena Kagan. (Back L–R) Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

As the Supreme Court unanimously agreed to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court ruling that blocked former President Donald Trump from access to the ballot, a 5–4 majority concurrently ruled that states do not have the power to enforce the 14th Amendment’s ban on federal candidates who engaged in an “insurrection or rebellion.”

But the four dissenting justices wrote that they believed the decision had gone too far and criticized their fellow justices over the matter. All nine justices agreed that Colorado cannot remove the former president from its ballots.