25 states have introduced bills by lawmakers that would require any presidential candidates to release their tax returns to be eligible to appear on the 2020 ballot in said states — clearly, this is directed at President Trump because he’s refused to release his personal tax returns.
Here’s why this matters: In theory, President Trump potentially could be blocked from being put on the ballot in any state where the new law is implemented. For now, not a single state has enacted it mainly because the governors of California and New Jersey have vetoed it after it had passed both state chambers. It’s turned out to be more of a sad attempt by state Democrats to stop Trump rather than an actual re-election threat.
Where it stands at this stage: Rhode Island is the latest state to have passed this measure through its state Senate, according to an article by Providence Journal, and Maryland’s state Senate did pass a bill back in May. Both will now move to their states’ House of Delegates for further consideration.
It might not be constitutional: For a state to require any presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to get ballot access could run into some constitutional issues. The U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that not any states or the federal government can create additional qualifications for congressional representatives or senators, and many legal experts in the field anticipate that it would, in fact, extend to presidential candidates.
Conflicts of interest: Rhode Island Democratic state legislators have argued that “tax returns provide essential information about candidates’ conflicts of interest.” Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who vetoed his state’s bill, called it a “transparent political stunt.”
- California Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown questioned its constitutionality and said the measure “sets a ‘slippery slope’ precedent” for what individuals states could require of candidates.”
- Michael McConnell, a professor at Stanford Law School, told AP there’s a “tax law problem, because federal law guarantees the confidentiality of tax returns,” and he anticipates “that law would pre-empt any state law requiring someone to divulge their returns.”
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Do you suppose the IRS does not know what is in the Presidents tax returns?? This is a complete nothing burger.
Just try and pull this bs and see how it works out for you.
The plus side is that all the corrupt cocktail slurping Democrats, who take handouts, would have to release THEIR tax information. A lot of interesting information in there I’d like to see on the Democrats… but SCOTUS won’t allow it.
If we are to have a disclosure of income tax lets make it a complete financial disclosure shall we. None of the elected have done that in a long time. I still wonder how the Clinton’s and Obama’s managed to exit the WH with millions when their combined worth for each family was less than $500 when they were elected. We should also be able to see all of their educational work and transcripts along with an identifying paper trail of every country they have been in from birth. Birth Certificates? A must and they must be completely verifiable or they can’t run. And while you are at it, we should all be required to identify ourselves and prove our citizenship in order to legally vote.
It’s probably a huge nothing burger for Trump or any future Republican Presidential candidate.
If I had the list of the 25 states who are trying to get this law, I would check to see if HRC won that state. If all 25 were HRC states, then so what? The impact will be that the Trump 2020 campaign will not even bother with those states, and still win a sweeping Electoral College outcome.
Also, if these 25 states get to keep PDJT off of their 2020 ballot, angered citizens of those states can still elect Trump via a write-in vote.
It’s just the spoiled children Donkeycrats screaming for attention. Just ignore them.
If these 25 states went HRC in 2016, then so what?
Citizens of these states can still vote for Trump as a write-in.
Or if President Trump can be kept off the 2020 ballot in those states, then any and all of those states votes should be disqualified in the 2020 election.