Maine appeals court delays ruling on removal of Trump from state ballot News
Carol Boldt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maine appeals court delays ruling on removal of Trump from state ballot

The Maine Superior Court temporarily delayed on Wednesday a decision from the Maine Secretary of State Shanna Bellows to exclude Trump from the state’s primary election ballot. Judge Michaela Murphy remanded Trump’s appeal of Bellows’ decision pending a ruling from the US Supreme Court on the constitutionality of Trump’s removal from Colorado’s ballot.

The court remanded the decision per the Maine Administrative Procedure Act. Section 11004(4)(B) of the act allows a court to “[r]emand the case for further proceedings, findings of fact or conclusions of law.” Under normal circumstances, state law requires a court to issue a written ruling 21 days after a petition challenging a decision is filed. Trump filed an appeal to stay Bellows’ decision on January 2. However, Murphy stated that the delay of proceedings by issuing a remand was in the “public interest” and would “minimize[s] any potentially destabilizing effect of inconsistent decisions.”

Trump was disqualified from from the state’s ballot in December. Bellows cited Section 3 of the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment as grounds for ineligibility. Section 3 states that anyone who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same [the US Constitution], or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” is disqualified from holding elected office. Bellows said that this applies to Trump because he engaged in insurrection following the 2020 election, culminating in the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol. She also found that Section 3 applies to the presidency because it is an office of the US that includes an oath to protect the Constitution. Officials in Colorado argued similar points to remove Trump from their respective ballot.

In his appeal, Trump claimed that he was denied due process. Trump supported his claim by presenting evidence that Bellows was biased against him. Additionally, Trump claimed that it is unlawful for state officials to rule on on issues raised under the Fourteenth Amendment.

The US Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in the Colorado case on February 8. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on Trump’s removal from the Colorado ballot, Bellows will have 30 days to withdraw, confirm or modify her original decision. Maine’s primary election is scheduled for March 5.

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