Breaking news from Maine! The Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, has officially ruled that Trump is ineligible to be on the 2024 primary ballot, mirroring what Colorado did just a week ago.
Read the ruling here.
Ms. Bellows joined CNN shortly after the news broke and laid out a compelling case for why she issued this ruling. The key part of what she had to say was this:
"So, again, I am so mindful, and I said this in my decision that it is unprecedented. No Secretary of State has ever deprived a Presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, but no Presidential candidate has ever engaged in insurrection and been disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment."
This ruling is sure to be appealed, as the Colorado one will be. The part of the Constitution that is being utilized to bar Trump from the ballot is Section 3 of the 14th Amendment which barred those who had sworn an oath the Constitution from holding office again if they engaged in insurrection.
Although Trump has not been charged, let alone convicted, of insurrection, 2 states have found that he engaged in it and therefore cannot be on the ballot.
In the ruling, Bellows wrote: “The events of January 6, 2021 were unprecedented and tragic. They were an attack not only upon the Capitol and government officials, but also an attack on the rule of law. The evidence here demonstrates that they occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of, the outgoing President. The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government, and [Maine law] requires me to act in response.”
Trump's campaign vowed to appeal the Maine decision, saying: “Democrats in blue states are recklessly and un-Constitutionally suspending the civil rights of the American voters by attempting to summarily remove President Trump’s name from the ballot. Make no mistake, these partisan election interference efforts are a hostile assault on American democracy.”
SCOTUS, the ball is in your court. Literally.
