Tossing this out as an anecdote ...
Duke v. Smith was a 1992 #Florida state court case in which several fringe presidential candidates sued to gain primary ballot access. (I worked for Agran's campaign.)
The judge ruled that a political party is like a private organization, with freedom of association, therefore it can choose whomever it wants on a primary ballot. (1/x)
https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914bf46add7b049347ad21a
This was a state court judge ruling. It was never appealed because we ran out of time (and money).
Nonetheless, I can see #SCOTUS deciding that Colorado can't exclude Trump from a *primary* ballot due to freedom of association, because the CO GOP has that right.
But for a *general* election ballot, the circumstances might be different.
Just tossing this out as a thought experiment. (2/2)
@KGinKS @WordsmithFL
#politics
It's also further complicated by the fact that it is semi-closed primary. Unaffiliated voters can cast votes, but Democrats can't. Only a plurality of votes is required.