Jan. 2 (UPI) — Former President Donald Trump appealed a decision Tuesday that would remove him from Maine’s 2024 primary ballot.
In an 11-page complaint filed in Kennebec County Superior Court in Maine, Trump called Secretary of State Shenna Bellows a “biased decision maker” who did not have the authority to disqualify him from seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
“The Secretary was a biased decision maker who should have recused herself and otherwise failed to provide lawful due process,” the complaint states, adding that Bellows “made multiple errors of law and acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner.”
Last week, Bellows ruled that Trump was ineligible to appear on the state’s primary ballot, making Maine the second state after Colorado to disqualify the former president under the so-called “insurrection clause” of the 14th Amendment.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment bars from public office any former official who swore an oath to the Constitution and who has “engaged insurrection or rebellion.”
“I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” Bellows wrote in her decision on Dec. 28. “I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle slammed Bellows’ decision, arguing Trump should be allowed to remain on the ballot “until he is actually found guilty of the crime of insurrection,” while allowing “Maine voters to decide who wins the election.”
The speedy timeline required under Maine state law could push the 14th Amendment case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is already hearing an appeal to Trump’s disqualification in Colorado. Trump’s name will remain on Maine’s ballot pending the appeal, with the state primary scheduled for Super Tuesday, March 5.
“Maine’s Secretary of State went outside of her authority, completely ignoring the Constitution when she summarily decided to remove President Trump’s name from the ballot, interfere in the election, and disenfranchise the voters of her state,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
While both Maine and Colorado have disqualified Trump from their primary ballots, other states have sided with the former president including Michigan, Arizona and Minnesota.
