Donald Trump Appeals Maine Ballot Ruling as He Seeks Supreme Court Decision on Presidential Eligibility

Donald Trump presented this Tuesday, January 2, an appeal to the Maine Secretary of State’s ruling that prohibits him from being on the presidential primary election ballot due to his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the federal Capitol. . The former president is also expected to ask the Supreme Court to issue a decision regarding his eligibility to return to the White House in a related case in Colorado.

Trump’s appeal to the Maine Supreme Court alleges that Bellows had no jurisdiction in the matter and asks that he be required to include Trump on the March 5 primary ballot. The appeal argues that the official abused his discretion and relied on “unreliable evidence.”

Former US President Donald Trump attends the Trump Organization’s civil fraud trial at the New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, United States, on November 6, 2023. | Photo: REUTERS

“The Secretary should have recused herself due to her bias against (former) President Trump, as demonstrated by a documented history of prior statements prejudging the matter presented,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.

Bellows reiterated that his ruling was on hold pending the outcome of a foreseeable appeal.

“This is part of the process. I am confident in my decision and confident in the rule of law. “This is Maine’s process and it is truly important that, more than anyone else, each and every one of us who serves in government respects the Constitution and the laws of the state,” he stated.

The appeal of the Colorado decision

The Colorado Republican Party has already filed an appeal of that state’s ruling before the nation’s highest court.

Trump’s critics have filed dozens of lawsuits seeking to disqualify him from the ballot in multiple states.

None were successful until a slim majority of Colorado’s seven judges — all appointed by Democratic governors — ruled against Trump.

“He is not qualified to be president” under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which excludes from public responsibility those who have participated in acts of “insurrection,” Shenna Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state, in charge of organizing, said in an official document the elections. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, file) | Photo: AP

Critics of that decision warned that it was an overreach and that the court could not simply declare that the January 6 attack was an “insurrection” without a more established judicial process.

Minnesota and Michigan allow Trump to appear on ballots

Bellows, former director of the Maine office of the American Civil Liberties Union, has previously criticized Trump and his behavior on January 6.

The former president is scheduled to stand trial in Washington in March for conspiring to alter the results of the 2020 election, which Democrat Joe Biden won.

Former President Donald Trump addresses an audience during a campaign event, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, in Wolfeboro, N.H. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) | Foto: AP

Trump also faces racketeering charges in Georgia for allegedly conspiring to alter the election results in this southern state.

Maine and Colorado hold primaries on March 5 during so-called “Super Tuesday,” when voters in more than a dozen states, including California and Texas, go to the polls.

2024-01-03 13:28:03
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