PORTLAND — Maine’s secretary of state removed the former president on Thursday Donald Trump of the 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot, a week after a similar decision in Colorado, in connection with the 2021 Capitol assault.
The decision by Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, makes her the first election official to take unilateral action with possible consequences for the Electoral College.
Although Maine only has four collegiate votes, it is one of two states that distribute them. Trump won one of Maine’s electors in 2020, so having him off the ballot if he wins the Republican presidential nomination could have major implications in a race that is expected to be decided by a narrow margin.
The Democrat’s decision follows a ruling in December by the Colorado Supreme Court – made up of justices nominated by Democratic governors – that removed Trump from the state electoral ballot based on Section 3 of the 14th Constitutional Amendment. Colorado is a Democratic-leaning state where Republicans are not expected to be competitive in November.
Bellows, in charge of organizing the elections, “ruled” that Trump could no longer run for president because his role in the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 violated said Section 3, which prohibits those from holding office. “have taken part in any insurrection.” Bellows issued the ruling after some state residents, including a bipartisan group of former lawmakers, challenged Trump’s inclusion on the ballot.
The decision was announced a day after Trump’s lawyers asked her to disqualify herself for tweets she posted that lawyers say show she is biased. Bellows called the attack on the Capitol an “insurrection” and regretted that Trump has not been found guilty by the federal Senate or House of Representatives.
