Thurston County Superior Court denies request to remove Trump from primary ballots

Donald J. Trump will stay on Washington state primary ballots, Thurston County Superior Court Judge, Mary Sue Wilson ruled Thursday morning. Eight Washington residents brought the complaint trying to get the former president removed.

Using two of Washington’s election statutes, dictating prevention and correction of ballot errors and fraud and candidate submission by parties, Wilson explained the court would have to show there had been an error on behalf of the Secretary of State Steve Hobbs or other officials in preparing the primary ballots. In finding none, the judge denied the request. 

“An order directing the Secretary of State to take different action, an order from this court, is simply not supported by the statutes and not supported by the affidavit of the elector,” Wilson said.

The Washington residents brought the complaint Jan. 10, claiming Trump should be taken off ballots because of his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. The petitioners likened it to the recent Colorado case, Anderson vs. Griswold, where the state Supreme Court there found Trump ineligible for office under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, barring those who aid and abet an insurrection, from holding office. The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up the appeal from Trump’s legal team. Oral arguments in that matter are set to begin Feb. 8, according to the Supreme Court’s website. 

“While it is of note and the court did review it,” Wilson said, referring to the Colorado case. “I know that it was a process that the Colorado trial court and then the Supreme Court addressed under Colorado election law and Colorado’s election law is not the same as Washington’s election law.”

The Colorado case had multiple trial days and months leading up to a decision. In Washington, Wilson said state law did not allow time for fact-finding and reviewing evidence. The earlier referenced statue on prevention and correction of ballot errors requires a decision issued five days after the affidavit is filed. 

“The statute simply does not contemplate a procedure like that conducted in Colorado,” Wilson said.

Earlier in the week, Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bassett declined to hear the complaint because, he said, Kitsap wasn’t the right county for the matter. The eight petitioners, who are residents of Kitsap County, filed the case in Kitsap and Thurston counties, hoping to have the decision applied statewide. 

Wilson also declined to hear the petitioners’ request to remove Trump from the general election ballots, saying the request was premature.