Shenna Bellows, the Democratic Secretary of State in Maine, has concluded that former President Donald Trump cannot be included on the state’s ballot. However, the implementation of this decision is pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s review of the ongoing contentious state rulings. Similar to the left-leaning justices in Colorado, Bellows cited Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment, commonly known as the Insurrection Clause, as the basis for disqualifying Trump.
Bellows stated in her ruling that she conducted a hearing on December 15th regarding three objections to Trump’s nomination. The first two, she said, “contest Mr. Trump’s qualification for office under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
“The third challenge, filed by Paul Gordon (the ‘Gordon Challenge’), contests Mr. Trump’s qualification under the Twenty-Second Amendment,” the ruling reads.
“For the reasons set forth below, I conclude that Mr. Trump’s primary petition is invalid,” she wrote.
“Specifically, 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 Three of the Fourteenth Amendment,” it reads:
BREAKING:
.@shennabellows the Secretary of State of MAINE @MESecOfState just said President Trump is “ineligible” to appear on the 2024 GOP primary ballot.
ELECTION INTERFERENCE! pic.twitter.com/iKXErPj9Zd
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) December 29, 2023
However the decision won’t be fully carried out until the Supreme Court weighs in, “given the compressed timeframe, the novel constitutional questions involved, the importance of this case, and impending ballot preparation deadlines,” per the secretary of state’s office.
In light of a legal submission made by Trump’s team on Wednesday, urging Bellows to withdraw from the case due to her perceived bias as a “completely biased Democrat partisan,” she has made her decision. Furthermore, this decision aligns with the recent ruling of the Colorado Supreme Court, which voted 4-3 in favor of the opinion that the ‘Insurrection Clause’ of the Constitution prevents former President Trump from being included on the ballot.
“We consider and reject President Trump’s argument that his speech on January 6 was protected by the First Amendment,” the ruling reads in part.
Nevertheless, the decision is being appealed by Trump’s team, and while this process unfolds, his name will continue to be listed on the Colorado primary ballot.
“With the appeal filed, Donald Trump will be included as a candidate on Colorado’s 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 Supreme Court ruling,” Colorado’s Secretary of State Jena Griswold office said in a press release.
The court’s opinion clearly indicated that the ruling would be temporarily halted until January 4, 2024, and would remain in effect if a cert petition was filed by that date. Consequently, this update comes as no surprise:
“If review is sought in the Supreme Court before the stay expires on January 4, 2024, then the stay shall remain in place, and the Secretary will continue to be required to include President Trump’s name on the 2024 presidential primary ballot, until the receipt of any order or mandate from the Supreme Court.”
Trump qas quick to fire back:
“The 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,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement at the time.
“We have full confidence that the Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these un-American lawsuits,” he added.