Maine’s Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, has disqualified former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot, invoking the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban,” reported CNN. This decision, mirroring a recent move by the Colorado Supreme Court, marks the second state to bar Trump from running for office.
The disqualification stems from a challenge initiated by a bipartisan group of former state lawmakers against Trump’s eligibility for office. Bellows, a Democrat, acknowledged the unprecedented nature of the action against a presidential candidate in her decision issued on Thursday.
“I do not reach this conclusion lightly,” Bellows stated. “Democracy is sacred … I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”
Trump’s legal team is anticipated to contest this decision, with the possibility of the issue escalating to the US Supreme Court, where legal experts believe it may be settled for the entire country, per CNN.
The former President, denying any wrongdoing related to the events of January 6, 2021, and dismissing legal challenges as baseless, faces mounting opposition from critics advocating the enforcement of the constitutional provision designed to safeguard against anti-democratic insurrectionists.
Maine’s ruling follows a momentum shift post the Colorado decision. While efforts in states like Michigan and Minnesota previously rejected similar endeavors before Colorado, consecutive rulings in Colorado and Maine signify a significant victory for those advocating for accountability, according to CNN.
The 14th Amendment, ratified post the Civil War, stipulates that American officials who “engage in” insurrection cannot hold future office. However, the provision’s enforcement lacks clarity, prompting legal interpretation and debate, as reported by CNN. (ANI)
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