- Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows faces a legal challenge by Trump.
- People accuse Bellows of making "multiple errors of law" and acting "arbitrarily and capriciously"
- The Supreme Court will address the issues raised in Maine.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who cited a "sacred obligation" to uphold the law, faces a legal challenge by Trump in state court. Challenges, invoking the US constitution's insurrection clause and alleging Trump's role in inciting the 2021 US Capitol riot, led to his removal from ballots in both Maine and Colorado.
The 14th Amendment, barring individuals who have "engaged in insurrection or rebellion," was central to these challenges. In a Monday court filing concerning the Maine decision, Trump's attorneys argue that Bellows, a Democrat, was a "biased decision maker" lacking the legal authority to exclude him from the ballot.
Additionally, the filing accuses Ms. Bellows of making "multiple errors of law" and acting "arbitrarily and capriciously".
The filing says that "The Secretary's actions will illegally exclude President Trump from the ballot."
In December 2020, Ms. Bellows, a former state senator and executive director of Maine's American Civil Liberties Union, won the election to serve as Maine's Secretary of State. A group of current and former state lawmakers initiated a challenge to Mr. Trump's placement on the ballot, prompting Ms. Bellows to make a ruling as required by Maine law.
Although courts have dismissed similar objections in other states, such as Michigan and Minnesota, people expect the US Supreme Court to address the issues raised in Maine and Colorado. The implementation of these decisions is pending resolution of legal challenges. A Supreme Court ruling on Mr. Trump's eligibility would have nationwide implications. David Janovsky, a senior policy analyst at the Project on Government Oversight, an independent watchdog, emphasized that the best outcome depends on the Supreme Court's decision.
"The fact that we now have two states in Colorado and Maine that have made this determination against the backdrop of other states that have declined to go that far means that if there was ever a case for the Supreme Court to resolve, this would be it," he said.
"Time is of the essence now that we're in an election year," Mr Janovsky added
In an interview, Ms Bellows defended her actions and said she hoped that the matter would ultimately be settled by the Supreme Court.
She said that she was "mindful" that no other secretary of state in US history had removed a presidential candidate due to the insurrection clause.
"But I'm also mindful that no presidential candidate has, ever before, engaged in insurrection," Ms Bellows said.
She emphasized that her decision was not politically motivated but based on the rule of law.
Both Mr. Trump and his campaign have repeatedly decried the rulings from Maine and Colorado as politically motivated and intended to harm his chances of winning the 2024 election.
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