“Maineâs Democrat Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, on Thursday determined that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the stateâs ballot, but the decision will not be carried out until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on the controversial state rulings […].
Like the left-leaning justices in Colorado, Bellows said Trump is disqualified based on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, or the Insurrection Clause.
In the ruling, Bellows wrote that she held a hearing on December 15 on three challenges to Trumpâs nomination. The first two, she said, âcontest Mr. Trumpâs qualification for office under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.â
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âSpecifically, I find that the declaration on his candidate consent form is false because he is not qualified to hold the office of the President under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment,â […].
Despite that, [the] decision will not be carried out until the Supreme Court […] makes a determination […], âgiven the […] timeframe, novel constitutional questions involved, the importance of this case, and impending ballot preparation deadlines,â per the secretary of stateâs office.
Her decision follows a legal filing from Trumpâs team on Wednesday arguing that Bellows should recuse herself from the case, deeming her a âcompletely biased Democrat partisan.â
The decision also follows the Colorado Supreme Court ruling in a 4-3 opinion that the Constitutionâs âInsurrection Clauseâ prohibits former Trump from appearing on the ballot.
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However, Trumpâs team is appealing the decision, and his name will still appear on the Colorado primary ballot as that process plays out.
âWith the appeal filed, Donald Trump will be included as a candidate on Coloradoâs 2024 Presidential Primary Ballot when certification occurs on January 5, 2024, unless the US Supreme Court declines to take the case or otherwise affirms the Colorado […] ruling,â Coloradoâs Secretary of State […] said in a press release.
This update is not surprising […] as the court stated in its own opinion that the ruling would be stayed until Jan. 4, 2024, and that the stay would continue if anyone filed a cert petition […]. […]
Trumpâs team quickly made it clear that it would do so.
âThe Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision,â Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement at the time.
âWe have full confidence that the Supreme Court will […] rule in our favor and […] put an end to these un-American lawsuits,â he added.
The news also follows the Michigan Supreme Court rejecting an appeal rooted in the Constitutionâs âInsurrection Clauseâ â although on procedural grounds â meaning Trump will remain on the ballot for the upcoming primary in that state.
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Trumpâs legal team, meanwhile, remains confident that the Supreme Court will ultimately rule in their favor, as these instances of âlawfareâ continuing to pile up.”