OAN’s Brooke Mallory
4:34 PM – Thursday, December 28, 2023
On Thursday, Maine became the second state in the nation to prohibit 45th President Donald Trump from competing in the primary.
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It is expected that there will be an appeal of Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ ruling. The Colorado Republican Party has requested that the United States Supreme Court consider the matter after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled last week that Trump could not be listed on the state’s ballot.
Whether Trump may run for office again could be decided for all states by the country’s highest court.
The U.S. ratified the 14th Amendment to the Constitution in 1868, three years after the Civil War had ended, to provide former slaves certain legal protections. Furthermore, if an individual participated in an insurrection, Section 3 of the amendment prohibited them from holding office even though they had pledged allegiance to the Constitution.
While it was utilized at the time to prevent former Confederates from holding public office, this clause has hardly been brought up in decades.
Following the Capitol breach on January 6th, 2021, Trump’s detractors used that particular clause of the Constitution, claiming that Trump’s activities leading up to and during the riot had allegedly incited and contributed to “an insurrection.”
Only Maine and Colorado have supported those contesting his right to run for office again thus far. While the Supreme Court decides whether to hear the case, the Colorado court has postponed its 4-3 ruling. His name will still be listed on the primary ballot for the time being.
“The events of January 6, 2021, were unprecedented and tragic,” Bellows wrote. “They were an attack not only upon the Capitol and government officials, but also an attack on the rule of law. The evidence here demonstrates that they occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of, the outgoing President. The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government, and [Maine law] requires me to act in response.”
According to campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung, Trump will file an immediate appeal of the Maine ruling.
“Democrats in blue states are recklessly and unconstitutionally suspending the civil rights of the American voters by attempting to summarily remove President Trump’s name from the ballot,” Cheung said in a statement. “Make no mistake, these partisan election interference efforts are a hostile assault on American democracy.”
Super Tuesday, falling on March 5th, is the day for the primaries in over a dozen states, including in Colorado and Maine. In order for election authorities to produce ballots and ship them to absentee voters, including to those who are abroad, they need definitive responses regarding who can appear on ballots weeks in advance.
Since Republicans will not select their nominee until after state nominating contests and the party’s national convention in July, the objections to Trump’s candidacy have centered on state primaries. By then, the focus would switch to the general election if Trump’s eligibility to run had not been decided.
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