House may nullify millions of votes to get back at states that disqualified Trump: GOP congressman

On Friday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) issued a veiled threat to states considering the disqualification of former President Donald Trump from the Republican primary ballot.

"Maine, Colorado, and other states that might try to bureaucratically deny ballot access to any Republican nominee should remember the US House of Representatives is the ultimate arbiter of whether to certify electors from those states," Massie wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Massie's threat seems to suggest that any state that excludes Trump from its respective ballot could face severe consequences, including having their state's chosen Electoral College representatives potentially excluded from the final electoral vote count. Hypothetically, this could mean that if the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) upholds the Colorado supreme court's disqualification of the former president, the Centennial State's 10 Electoral College members may not be certified by the full House of Representatives — effectively denying the votes of millions of Coloradans from being included in the final result.

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The Kentucky Republican's tweet comes in the wake of Trump potentially facing ballot disqualification in at least two states, pending judicial review. In Colorado, the state's supreme court ruled 4-3 in the Anderson v. Griswold case that Trump was not qualified to appear on the ballot due to being in violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

Colorado's Republican Party appealed that ruling, and a stay has been placed on the ruling preventing it from going into effect until January 4, pending review by SCOTUS. For now, Trump will remain on the Colorado ballot.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows likewise issued a ruling on Thursday night that stated Trump was "not qualified to hold the office of president" due to his role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Bellows noted the Maine legislature delegated the responsibility of determining candidates' eligibility to her office, rather than have it be litigated in court.

Additionally, Trump's ballot eligibility is being challenged in North Carolina. Republican lawyer Brian Martin filed an appeal to state elections officials arguing that including Trump on the ballot would be "constitutionally unacceptable" given that he could ultimately be disqualified, thus depriving millions of North Carolinians from having their votes be properly counted. And a voter in Louisiana has filed a lawsuit seeking to disqualify Trump in the Bayou State under the insurrection clause.

READ MORE: Louisiana voter files 'long shot' lawsuit to exclude Trump from state ballot