Should former President Donald Trump run for the White House again, an obscure Reconstruction-era law could keep him off the ballot in six southern states, including North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, because of his incitement of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The third section of the 14th Amendment prohibits people who swore to defend the Constitution, but who subsequently took part in an insurrection against the United States, from holding state or federal office. Other language in that post-Civil War amendment, though, makes many experts believe that only Congress can enforce the ban, which means Senate Republicans could block any such action.

But the 1868 law that readmitted the six states put the burden on them to keep those who have been involved in insurrections from seeking office potentially making it considerably easier to keep Trump off their primary and general election ballots.

Its still on the books, said Gerard Magliocca, a law professor at Indiana University who studies the Reconstruction period. He added that the language could help those seeking to disqualify Trump and other candidates who appeared to encourage the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol. The law is still there. And it could be appealed to.

The six states affected by the 1868 law North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida together have 88 electoral votes, or 33% of the total needed to win the presidency. Trump won all of them in 2020 except for Georgia, which he lost by 12,000 votes.

Ron Fein, whose Free Speech For People group is already challenging North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorns attempt to seek reelection because of his participation in the Jan. 6 pre-riot rally, said that the constitutional ban on insurrectionists running for office applies everywhere, and the 1868 law merely helps explain what Congress meant.

Whether youre in Maine or Mississippi or Alabama, the 14th Amendment applies, he said. Maybe theres more clarity in these states.

Fein likened the insurrection disqualification to existing exclusions in the Constitution, such as the way age and citizenship would disqualify a 12-year-old who lived in another country from running for federal office. Does anyone seriously think that that person should be allowed on the ballot? I dont think so, he said.

Trumps staff did not respond to HuffPosts queries for this article.

The former president was impeached for inciting an insurrection by the House, but not enough Republicans in the Senate voted to convict him, arguing that they did not have the authority because Trump was no longer president. Had they done so, a simple majority vote could then have banned Trump from holding federal office for the rest of his life.

It would have been great if Congress had already taken care of this, Fein said, but added that he and his group plan to lodge 14th Amendment complaints wherever possible against those involved with the Jan. 6 attack, especially against Trump. We fully intend to pursue this type of challenge if Mr. Trump chooses to run.