Missouri’s secretary of state threatens to drop Biden from 2024 ballot if ‘new legal standard’ removes Trump

The Secretary of State for Missouri, Jay Ashcroft, has warned that he could eliminate the presence of President Biden in the election ballot. This comes amidst other states' attempts to disqualify former President Trump from running for a second term due to his part in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The U.S. Supreme Court is yet to make a decision allowing Trump to be part of the Republican primary ballot in Colorado after the state Supreme Court prevented him from this, referencing the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause. The high court supported a previous court's decision that Trump incited his supporters amid the endorsement of Biden’s 2020 election triumph. The ruling made by the Colorado's Supreme Court was unprecedented, as it was the first time Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was invoked to block a presidential hopeful from the ballot. A similar decision was made by Maine's secretary of state, leading Trump to challenge this decision. Ashcroft, a Republican, criticized the decisions taken in Colorado and Maine, calling them “disgraceful” and “detrimental to our republic.” In response to such moves, Ashcroft stated that if the Supreme Court didn't overturn the decisions, other Secretaries of State could apply the same legal standards to Biden. Speaking to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, he rejected adopting such a path but acknowledged it could become unavoidable. Democrats' attempts to block Trump from the 2024 presidential race have been heavily condemned by Republicans, who argue it goes against voter sentiment. Last month, Dan Patrick, Texas's Lt. Governor, proposed removing Biden from the Texas ballot due to his handling of the southern border crisis. Multiple states, including Missouri, have publicly supported Trump in a letter to the high court. Fox News Digital has approached Ashcroft’s office for a comment, and an implied rejection of the idea was given by a White House spokesperson.