Secretary Gray Speaks Against Effort to Remove Donald Trump from Ballot in 2024

CHEYENNE, WY – On September 7, Secretary of State Chuck Gray sent a letter to New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan outlining his concern with recent reports that Secretary Scanlan was considering the removal of Donald Trump from the New Hampshire primary ballot in 2024 citing Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

“First, I take issue with the extremely broad and overreaching interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment to unilaterally remove a candidate from the ballot before an election,” Secretary Gray wrote. “Lest we are living through some Orwellian dystopia, the weaponization of the Fourteenth Amendment to remove political opponents from the ballot undermines the sanctity of the Constitution and our entire election process.”

Secretary Gray went on to note that the unilateral removal of a candidate from the ballot in one state not only affects that state’s election, but also has far-reaching ramifications in other states with later primaries and caucuses, like Wyoming.

Finally, Secretary Gray cautioned against using a position of power to infringe on the right to vote. “In Wyoming, we will let the people choose for themselves, and I pledge not to use my position of power to place a thumb on the scales of any election by using broad terms in the Constitution to remove qualified candidates from the ballot. With the public’s trust in our institutions at an all-time low, we are at a pivotal point in which we must put the rule of law above partisan political grievances. I urge you, for the sake of our Republic and the Constitution we all swore an oath to uphold and defend, do not abuse your position of power to remove Donald Trump from the ballot and take away or alter the will of the American People.”