Port Orchard, Washington - The challenge by a group of voters to remove former President Donald Trump from the Washington presidential primary ballot will shift this week to an Olympia courtroom after a Kitsap County judge on Tuesday said the issue should be decided where the state capitol is located.

The group of eight voters had filed the challenge to Trump's eligibility in both Kitsap County – where they all live – and Thurston County.

Given Thurston County's "unique position as the seat of our state government," Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bassett said from the bench, "I do not believe Kitsap is the appropriate venue for this case today."

A hearing is now scheduled for 8:30 AM Thursday in Thurston County Superior Court.

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In anticipation of a full hearing Tuesday, the small Port Orchard courtroom was filled to capacity, largely with Trump supporters.

Trump faces ballot challenges in at least 35 states. In two states, Colorado and Maine, officials have ordered the former president removed from the ballot for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The ultimate resolution to all the ballot challenges may be decided by the US Supreme Court, which already has agreed to hear a challenge to the Colorado case.