Joy Pullmann of the Federalist spots a contradiction within the Democratic Party’s election priorities.

Although former President Donald Trump hasn’t been convicted of a crime despite two impeachments, FBI investigations, and myriad prosecutions, Democrats want him stripped from ballots while their party supports ballot access for criminals.

The official who unilaterally stripped Trump from the ballot in Maine did so based on her personal view that “Mr. Trump was aware of the likelihood for violence and at least initially supported its use” on Jan. 6, 2021. She is not a judge, and even if she were, such a pronouncement would be contrary to law.

Trump’s much-viewed public statements on that day were not a clear incitement to violence, and therefore are First Amendment-protected speech. Leftists are criminalizing speech by claiming it equals violence, breaking constitutional standards. The claim is belied by the facts: The vast majority of people listening to Trump that day were not incited to violence. There’s plenty of evidence that incitement occurred instead among the proportionally few rioters.

Claiming Trump incited insurrection is a political projection intended to promote a one-party state. It is the basis of lawsuits attempting to keep Trump off the ballot in more than a dozen states. One such lawsuit was successful last month in Colorado. That lawless state supreme court decision is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2023, 20 House Democrats cosponsored a bill to allow people still serving sentences for their crimes to vote in federal elections. Its cosponsors include Reps. Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman, two key players in attempts to deprive Trump of his constitutional right to a fair trial and equal treatment under the law. …

… State-level Democrats in New York, Washington, Maryland, and Virginia have also moved to allow convicted criminals to regain the power to affect laws despite deeply — and usually serially — violating fellow citizens’ rights. Two dozen Senate Democrats cosponsored a bill to allow postrelease felons to vote nationwide, with Democrat Sen. Ben Cardin claiming that not allowing lawbreakers to affect the nation’s laws is “Jim Crow.”