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Meanwhile, the fair election advocacy group Common Cause filed a brief supporting Mr. Smith at the Supreme Court in the D.C. case over Mr. Trump's claim of absolute immunity, saying the justices must decide the issue swiftly so the trial can take place before the November election and, ironically, so politics don't appear to be at play. "The American people deserve a trial and a verdict on these serious charges before they go to the polls in November," said Virginia Kase Solomón, president of Common Cause. "The presumptive Republican presidential nominee stands criminally charged with conspiracy and obstruction stemming from his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It is critically important that the Supreme Court rule quickly, as it has in past presidential cases, so that justice can be rendered before Americans cast their ballots."

In a statement, Aly Belknap, executive director of the nonprofit Colorado Common Cause, which filed several amicus, or friend-of-the-court, briefs in support of the Colorado plaintiffs, called the ruling “a dark day for our democracy.” “Donald Trump lied, cheated, and unleashed violence when the election did not go his way, and his ongoing incitement has led to an unprecedented rise in attacks and death threats against election workers, judges, and other public servants,” Belknap said. “By refusing to hold Trump accountable and allowing him to skirt around the pillars of our Constitution, SCOTUS has greenlit this behavior for future public officials.”

"There must be consequences for overturning the will of the voters, both to prevent these schemes from being attempted in the future and to ensure accountability to those responsible for future attempts," added Aly Belknap of Colorado Common Cause.

“Our democracy is not a chaotic free-for-all in which anyone can be elected. The voters are entitled to decide within the framework of the applicable rules,” the good government group Common Cause wrote in an amicus brief supporting the challengers. “If Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment (“Section 3”) is not enforced in this case, there is a genuine risk that our system of government will not survive,” they wrote.

Common Cause reminds the Court that the Constitution possesses checks and balances for the very expressed purpose of preserving constitutional order. Their brief highlights many restrictions on who voters can select including restrictions on age and term limits. They aver that elections must follow the rules laid in the Constitution and the Court must not shy away from public pressure to ignore their duty to the Constitution. The Framers of the Constitution recognized that protecting democracy would require “uncommon portion of fortitude” when going against “the major voice of the community,” Common Cause argues .

Colorado Common Cause, which supported the plaintiffs’ case with an amicus, or friend-of-the-court, brief before the Colorado Supreme Court, on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court “to set a critical legal precedent to safeguard the future of American democracy.” “The Supreme Court must embrace its role as an active defender of our Constitution, or else it may crumble under the immense pressure it will surely face in the years to come,” Aly Belknap, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.