The Hill is reporting that the State of Washington’s moving to force anyone seeking to be on their Presidential ballot to reveal their tax returns:
Washington’s state Senate passed a bill this week that would drop President Trump from the state’s 2020 presidential ballot until he releases his tax returns.
The bill, which advanced Tuesday to the state’s House of Representatives, according to CBS News, would require any candidate on the ballot for president in the state to release five years of tax returns before appearing in a general or primary election.
Senators voted by a 28-21 margin to approve the bill, according to CBS. The state’s attorney general and solicitor told lawmakers in a letter this week that the proposal likely was constitutional, but analysts expect the law if passed to be challenged in federal court.
“The disclosure requirement you propose is likely Constitutional,” the two wrote to lawmakers, according to CBS, adding that the measure “would definitely be challenged in court.”
And if the Democrats are smart, one of them will challenge the law. Because it’s possible that when Trump’s campaign sues, a Federal court would rule that, while the lawsuit is unresolved, the law is suspended, and if the lawsuit is filed sufficiently late, it might not be resolved until after the 2020 elections, thus letting President Trump slip onto the ballot without revealing his tax returns.
There’ll be arguments about privacy, but I think they are superseded about the importance of the voter knowing whether or not the nominee is truthful as to their claims. (Indeed, now I’m tempted to suggest that nominees should be required to support contentious assertions, but I hesitate to suggest Yet Another Law.) Many voter interviews have indicated that Trump voters considered his alleged success in the private sector to be a reason to vote for him.
One of the Republican opposition remarked:
“We’re on really risky ground when we’re trying to place conditions on a federal election,” said Sen. Hans Zeiger (R), according to CBS.
I don’t think so. States choose how they select electors to the Electoral College. This is clearly a requirement the State has the prerogative to impose, in my view.
Should be interesting. Would he submit falsified returns? Just drop out? Or just try to make it all fly based on his supposed charisma? (Don’t worry, I never fell for President Clinton’s supposed charisma as well.)
