California Secretary Of State Rejects Calls To Remove Trump From Ballot

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

48% : According to polling tracked by RealClearPolling.com, President Trump maintains a significant lead among his rivals.
47% : The nation's highest court is expected to be the final arbiter on whether President Trump is eligible to hold office.
42% : Ms. Weber responded to Ms. Kounalakis's letter in a message of her own on Dec. 22, in which she stressed that the issue of keeping or removing President Trump from the ballot is of particular concern to the public, meaning she is obligated to address it "within legal parameters" and in the "best interests of all California voters."
38% : In a letter sent to California's top election official on Dec. 20, one day after the Colorado Supreme Court's decision to disqualify President Trump from the state's ballot, Ms. Kounalakis urged Ms. Weber to explore any and all legal options to ensure voters in California would not be able to cast a ballot for him.
38% : In her 34-page ruling, Maine's secretary of state, Ms. Bellows, argued that President Trump "over the course of several months and culminating on January 6, 2021, used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters and direct them to the Capitol to prevent certification of the 2020 election and the peaceful transfer of power.
26% : California is obligated to determine if Trump is ineligible for the California ballot," she continued, adding that the Colorado Supreme Court's decision should serve as a basis for a "similar decision" in the Golden State.
25% : The decision by Ms. Weber regarding California's ballot came just hours after Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, whose office oversees elections in the state, ruled that President Trump cannot appear on the primary ballot in that state, citing the same 14th Amendment clause at the center of President Trump's eligibility question now before the U.S. Supreme Court.
24% : In her letter, Ms. Kounalakis stated that there would be "inevitable political punditry" regarding a decision to remove President Trump -- who has maintained a significant lead in 2024 GOP presidential polls -- from the ballot.
22% : "Legal challenges filed in about half the states trying to disqualify President Trump from the ballots in 2024 have largely been dismissed by federal and state judges on procedural and jurisdictional grounds.
22% : Thursday's decision by California's top election official means President Trump will now face off against rivals including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina governor and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
19% : Ms. Weber's decision comes after being confronted with calls from the state's lieutenant governor, Eleni Kounalakis, to remove President Trump from the ballot.
17% : California's lieutenant governor, citing the Colorado Supreme Court's Dec. 19 decision, accused President Trump of insurrection during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the Capitol.

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