Good morning and happy Halloween! Spooky season ends tonight. This is your friendly reminder that candy will be on deep discount starting tomorrow morning.

We’ve got a lot in store today:

• Trump could be disqualified

• Elvis’s cousin is running for office

• Pluto has an ice volcano

• And much more!

Here’s today’s edition of The Elective:

 2024 

Trump’s disqualification trial begins

A trial in Colorado that could block former President Donald Trump from the state’s presidential ballot began Monday. The state-level lawsuit alleges he is ineligible to appear on the ballot due to a little-used part of the Civil War era 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

What’s the 14th Amendment say?

The relevant portion is this chunk of Section 3:

• “No person shall...hold any office...under the United States...who, having previously taken an oath...to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same...”

At its core this lawsuit is about whether or not Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021 riots at the Capitol mean he “engaged in insurrection.”

Trump says there is “no legal basis” for using this provision to disqualify him from the ballot. It has only ever been used in the 1800s against former Confederates.

What if the lawsuit succeeds?

If the lawsuit is decided for the plaintiffs (the voters who sued Trump here), he would be disqualified from appearing on the ballot in Colorado in both the primary and general elections (note that this only affects Colorado).

That would not preclude him from continuing his campaign. He does not necessarily need Colorado’s primary delegates to win the Republican nomination. Nor does he need the state’s Electoral College votes to win the general election.

But the Trump campaign would likely appeal the result to a higher court. The Supreme Court has never ruled on this clause of the 14th Amendment.

A win for the plaintiffs here would also likely result in more suits being filed in other states. Similar cases have already been filed in Minnesota and Michigan but they have not yet gone to trial.

So what’s next?

The trial is set to last one week. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (the person responsible for running their elections) said she would comply with whatever order the judge gives.

She brushed off critics who claim the lawsuit is an abuse of the legal process, saying “It’s an appropriate mechanism to file a lawsuit. What is inappropriate is trying to steal an election from the American people.”

Trump’s attorney in the case is another former Colorado Secretary of State, Scott Gessler.

 NEWS 

🤖 AI: President Biden signed an executive order meant to safeguard the public against the negative consequences of AI. The order requires some AI developers to submit safety reports to the federal government. It also directs federal agencies to create standards for those tests. In response, the Commerce Department will develop guidance for watermarking of AI-created content. Industry insiders offered split reactions. Some welcomed it while others called it “stifling.” The White House said the policy is also meant to address discrimination that could arise from “irresponsible” AI use. The Senate is working on legislation to address the technology as well.

🇮🇱 Israel: Israeli forces rescued a hostage in Gaza for the first time since the conflict began three weeks ago. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again rejected calls for a ceasefire as Israel’s ground forces pushed further into Gaza. He said “calls for a cease-fire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas.” The advance is complicated by the presence of hundreds of miles of tunnels throughout Gaza controlled by Hamas. Many hostages are believed to be held in these tunnels. Though the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to worsen, the White House said it is “confident” that 100 aid trucks per day trucks will soon be entering Gaza.

🚗 UAW: The United Auto Workers and General Motors reached a tentative deal last night to end their six-week strike. Veteran workers will receive 33% pay increases while retirees will see an extra $2,500. The deal also prevents GM from hiring a bunch of lower paid temporary workers. GM is the third and final Detroit automaker to come to a deal with the UAW. The car companies say the new deals will make it more difficult for the Big Three (GM, Ford, Stellantis/Chrysler), to compete with nonunion companies like Tesla, Nissan, Toyota, and Honda.

 POLITICS 

🔵🔴 Could Mississippi elect Elvis’s cousin (literally) their next governor? Democratic nominee Brandon Presley trails incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves in recent polls by 1-11 points. But the governor’s underwater approval rating has Mississippi Republicans preparing for a runoff election. Unlike most states, Mississippi requires gubernatorial candidates to receive more than 50% of the vote to win. The presence of an independent candidate on the ballot could prevent either major candidate from crossing that threshold. The election is Nov. 7. A hypothetical runoff election between the top two finishers would take place Nov. 28. Mississippi last elected a Democratic governor in 1999.

🔴 Scandal-ridden New York Rep. George Santos (R) just might get expelled from the House — at least if a few of New York’s other Republican Congressmen get their way. The group, led by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, introduced a resolution to expel Santos. Expulsion from Congress is extremely rare. It’s happened only twice since the Civil War — in 1980 and 2002. Both expulsions came after bribery convictions. Santos has been charged with 23 counts of theft, fraud, and more. Six New York Republicans (including Santos) represent districts won by President Biden in 2020. For them, expelling their embattled colleague could be a matter of political survival. Officially giving Santos the boot requires a two-thirds majority. A vote is expected later this week.

🔵 Sophomore Missouri Rep. Cori Bush (D) just got a primary challenger. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell (D) just dropped out of the US Senate race and into this one. Bush has been a lightning rod for criticism, most recently when she called for an end to US support for Israeli “apartheid.” As an elected official, Bell is a legitimate challenger. But so was Bush’s primary rival last year. And she defeated him by over 40 points. Bush was first elected in 2020 after waging a successful primary challenge to the district’s longtime Democratic incumbent. She is the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress.

 TRIVIA 

 BRIEFS 

🎃 What are the top 10 most popular Halloween candies? Instacart has the details and they say and they Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups come out on top nationally. Unfortunately for children in North Carolina, candy corn tops the list there.

🖥️ At its Scary Fast event last night, Apple unveiled the company’s new M3 chip along with a new iMac and three new MacBook Pros.

🇺🇸 Scientists believe an ice volcano on Pluto could point to a massive underground ocean on the (dwarf) planet. In a totally-not-science-fiction-process, the cryovolcano spews “ice lava” that’s got to be coming from somewhere.

📉 The value of Twitter X has fallen from $44 billion to $19 billion since Elon Musk purchased the company last year. The updated number comes from the value of restricted stock given to employees.

💰 Is it possible to unlock an old flash drive containing $235 million in Bitcoin? These guys think they can crack it. But two wrong guesses could erase the drive forever.

📺 For any “Friends” fan who still has cable, TBS is airing a “best of Chandler” marathon this week in honor of the late Matthew Perry. Alternatively, you could stream your own marathon on Max like normal people do in 2023.

⚖️ Google CEO Sundar Pichai testified Monday that the company’s actions were not only not anticompetitive, but that they improved the internet as a whole.

 QUOTE 

 ANSWER 

Washington last elected a Republican governor in 1980.

South Dakota last elected a Democratic governor in 1974.