Maine secretary of state appeals ruling deferring Trump ballot decision

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) appealed a ruling Friday that delays a decision on whether to kick former President Trump off the state’s primary ballot under the 14th Amendment until the Supreme Court resolves whether he is disqualified, according to court documents.

Bellows last month ruled that Trump could not appear on Maine’s primary ballot, making Maine the second state to do so. Trump then appealed the decision to state court.

On Wednesday, the judge declined to weigh in on the merits, instead saying that Trump can remain on the ballot until the U.S. Supreme Court resolves a similar case from Colorado. Bellows must afterward reassess her decision, the judge ruled.

Bellows had warned that punting the decision on Trump’s eligibility would put Maine in a “precarious position,” saying voters may end up casting their votes with Trump’s qualification in doubt. The state’s Super Tuesday, March 5 primary is fast approaching, and the Supreme Court won’t hear oral arguments until next month, Bellows noted.

“A stay of this proceeding, followed by a February decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, may ultimately force the Secretary and her staff to scramble to minimize damage to the integrity of the March 5, 2024 election,” the Maine attorney general’s office, representing Bellows, had written in court filings.

Bellows filed a notice of appeal Friday, bringing the dispute to the state’s top court, known as the Law Court in this context.

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Maine state law prescribes a speedy timeline for the court to act. The parties will now have four days to file their written briefs, and the court is obligated to issue its decision within 14 days of the judge’s ruling from Wednesday.

The 14th Amendment prohibits someone from holding “any office … under the United States” if they “engaged in insurrection” after taking an oath to support the Constitution. Challengers in Maine and elsewhere have argued Trump’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack mean he should be kept off the ballot.