Washington State Judge Refuses to Hear Lawsuit to Block Trump From Ballot

‘There are 39 counties in this state. Filing a separate action in every county could result in I don’t know how many different decisions.’

A day after FBI agents raided his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla. former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower in New York on Aug. 9, 2022. David 'Dee' Delgado/Reuters

A Washington state judge on Jan. 16 declined to take up a case to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s ballots, saying the challenge is in the wrong venue.

Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bassett said that the suit needs to be brought in Thurston County, the location of the state capital city of Olympia. That’s also where Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs’ office is located.

“Considering the litigants are seeking a statewide application, I do not believe Kitsap is the appropriate venue for this case,” Judge Bassett said, according to local media reports. “There are 39 counties in this state. Filing a separate action in every county could result in I don’t know how many different decisions.”

Like challenges in other states—including Maine and Colorado—the petitioners argued that the former president should be barred from appearing on state ballots because of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment’s Section 3, which excludes individuals who engaged in an “insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S. government.

They have claimed that President Trump engaged in an “insurrection,” although he has never been charged with or convicted of that crime.

The petitioners include a group of voters from Kitsap County. “As registered voters of the state of Washington, under RCW 29A.68.011 of the election provisions, we request Donald J. Trump’s name to be removed from both the primary and election ballots,” they wrote.

One of the voters, Frankey Ithaka, told the judge that the case was filed in Kitsap because the petitioners live in that county.

“So we should go to Thurston (County), do our case in Thurston, on Thursday?” Ms. Ithaka asked in court. “Yes,” Judge Bassett said, it was reported.

In a statement on Jan. 16 to KING-TV in Seattle, the state’s Republican Party described the voters’ challenge as “unserious” and “theatrical nonsense” and that it will continue to defend against those claims.

“These eccentric readings of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment waste taxpayers’ money and time. The Washington State Republican Party will protect the interests of all Washingtonians by standing steadfast against such rank stupidity,” the state GOP also said.

Located in western Washington near Seattle and Tacoma, Kitsap County includes the cities of Bremerton and Bainbridge Island.

Other Challenges

In December, Colorado’s Supreme Court issued a 4-3 ruling that prohibited President Trump from appearing on the ballot. The lawsuit was filed by the Washington, D.C.-based group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which is overseen by Noah Bookbinder, a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s advisory board.

In Maine, Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows unilaterally decided to bar the former president from ballot access. One of Maine’s electoral votes went for President Trump during the 2020 election.

Both rulings have been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court agreed to take up the Colorado case, with arguments scheduled in the coming weeks.

“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the majority of Colorado’s justices wrote. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us.

“We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”

Three Colorado Supreme Court justices dissented from last month’s ruling. One of the dissenting justices, Carlos Samour, said in a lengthy opinion that a lawsuit is not a fair mechanism for determining the former president’s eligibility for the ballot because it deprives him of his right to due process. He noted that no jury has convicted him of insurrection.

“Even if we are convinced that a candidate committed horrible acts in the past—dare I say, engaged in insurrection—there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office,” he wrote.

Court Rejections

Judges in other states have dismissed multiple lawsuits challenging President Trump’s ability to appear on ballots, including recently in Virginia, California, and West Virginia.

Last week, Oregon’s Supreme Court wrote that it would not move to remove President Trump “for now” after a similar lawsuit was filed. Five Oregon voters attempted to bar the former president under their interpretation of the 14th Amendment.

The state’s Supreme Court noted that arguments presented in the Colorado case that was taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court “are identical to some arguments advanced by” the Oregon voters.

The Colorado high court had ruled that the 14th Amendment’s Section 3 bars individuals who have engaged in an “insurrection or rebellion” from appearing on state ballots.

Reuters contributed to this report.