An appeal to Maine’s Superior Court is the likely next step for former President Donald Trump after he was ruled ineligible for the state’s 2024 Republican primary ballot.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows decided Thursday that Trump is not allowed on the June ballot, saying Trump’s role in inciting the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, was a violation of the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause.
Specifically, Trump is not qualified to hold the office of the President under the 14th Amendment, Bellows’ decision said.
Before the decision, Trump asked for Bellows, a Democrat, to recuse herself because she is a Biden supporter and “completely biased.”
Challengers in Maine and across the country say Trump should be disqualified from the ballot through the 14th Amendment. At stake for Trump in Maine is the state’s four electoral votes, although Maine is one of just two states that allows electoral votes to be split. Trump received one of Maine’s electoral votes in 2020.
Trump can appeal Bellows’ decision to Maine’s Superior Court, which must happen within five days of Bellows’ decision. After an appeal, the court has 20 days from Bellows’ decision to issue its finding, per state law.
That decision can then be appealed to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, which must issue a decision within 14 days of the superior court decision.
Bellows’ decision is an outlier, compared with five states that have denied similar challenges and will allow Trump to remain on their primary ballots. Most recently, the Michigan Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision and declined to hear an argument about kicking Trump off the state’s primary ballot.
However, the issue will likely be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Colorado Republican Party asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, after the Colorado Supreme Court blocked Trump from the state’s primary ballot. Colorado’s presidential primary is March 5.
The nation’s highest court has never ruled on the section of the 14th Amendment that bans people from office who “engaged in insurrection.” The section was added following the Civil War to keep former Confederates out of government. People cannot hold government office if they “engaged in insurrection” after they swore an oath to support the constitution.
If the U.S. Supreme Court issues a decision, it would apply to all states.