An amendment meant to keep ex-Confederates from holding office after the Civil War is once again coming into play as Colorado and Maine have announced that former President Donald Trump will not appear on the ballot of their upcoming presidential primaries.The 14th Amendment, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution states, “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”Setting aside any feelings about Trump and simply looking at this legally, personally, I do not understand how someone not convicted of insurrection can be disqualified in the name of democracy. However, I will leave that argument to legal scholars and instead try to correct a popular online statement that Democrats have done this before with Abraham Lincoln in 1860. While it is true Lincoln was not on any ballots in the South, it’s not because of Democrats’ interference, but because there was no official ballot in 1860.During most of the 19th century the government did not print official ballots. In fact, during the first several elections nothing was written down at all. A voter came to the courthouse on voting day, swore on the Bible he was who he claimed he was (the first form of voter ID) then announced his vote to the clerk who recorded it.Eventually voting turned to paper, but mostly written on scrap paper or ballots printed in newspapers, but the voting was still public knowledge. Being a public ballot allowed for political machines like Tammany Hall to form and control votes, especially from new immigrants. Eventually parties began printing their own ballots already filled out and could pass them to their supporters. With most immigrants a party representative met them on the docks and let them know that a job and lodging was prepared for them and all they had to do was vote for ...
