Rarely do legal scholars compel government officials to embark on an unprecedented and hugely consequential course of action, but that is precisely what William Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen, authors of a law review article regarding Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, and the intellectual powerhouse duo of former judge J. Michael Luttig and Laurence H. Tribe have done.
In a remarkably short time, they have driven home the implications of Section 3: that all officials with a role in the presidential election process must consider disqualifying former president Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot if they find he “either ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion’ against the Constitution or gave ‘aid and comfort to the enemies’ of that Constitution.”
Secretaries of state certainly have heard them loud and clear. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), appearing on MSNBC (where I am a contributor), “emphasized her plan to consider the issue exclusively based on applicable law, without partisan considerations, expressing concern that this issue could become weaponized in future elections,” as legal scholar Edward B. Foley noted. Benson also indicated she would be conferring with secretaries of state in Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania. But she smartly recognized that whatever she and other secretaries decide, the issue will undoubtedly travel to the Supreme Court for a final determination.
Likewise, New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan (R) said recently, “When somebody makes a reasoned argument about what those provisions mean, I feel an obligation to at least listen to them.” He added, “A decision of that magnitude that’s a decision of deciding that somebody is not qualified to run, a person, is extraordinary. And it really has to be treated with that degree of importance.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/29/trump-ballot-disqualification-constitution/
I expect different jurisdictions to come to different conclusions on this, which will create a situation that will require expedited review by the Supreme Court. The secretary of state of New Hampshire will probably have to make the first consequential decision on this matter, and no matter what his decision there will be a legal filing against it.