Maine became the second state after Colorado to bar former President Donald Trump from appearing on its 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot, state officials announced late Thursday.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, said the “insurrectionist ban” in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution applies to Trump and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. It’s the same reason Colorado barred Trump.
Evidence shows the attack “occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of, the outgoing President (Trump),” Bellows wrote in her 34-page decision.
Maine’s decision came nine days after, and is separate from, the Colorado Supreme Court’s unprecedented ruling Dec. 19 that disqualified Trump from its primary ballot. Those decisions will continue to reverberate across the nation.
Bellows said she will wait until courts rule on her decision before removing Trump from the primary ballot. That means Trump will probably appear on the ballot on March 5, USA TODAY reported.
Both decisions are certain to be appealed, Maine to the state Superior Court, Colorado to U.S. Supreme Court.
In its 4-3 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court invoked the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. It ruled Trump is ineligible to appear on the ballot because he engaged in insurrection by inciting the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Lawsuits opposing Trump are the first to invoke Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against a presidential candidate. Suits have been filed in more than 30 states.
Trump’s lawyers say they will appeal the Colorado decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. A ruling there could decide if Trump can appear on all state ballots.
Bellows’s decision could take a similar route through the Maine court system as in Colorado. There, the lawsuit wound its way through state courts in 104 days of filings with more than 150 documents and 2,200 pages. Highlights include:
USA Today
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