Maine is the latest state to determine that former President Donald Trump is constitutionally ineligible to appear on the state’s primary ballot for 2024.
“The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government,” Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows wrote in a 34-page ruling.
BREAKING: Maine Secretary of State rules Trump is ineligible to appear on 2024 ballot. 34-page decision: https://t.co/C5FNm0zqpl pic.twitter.com/sQ5DqleVXr
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 28, 2023
Trump vowed to appeal the decision.
“We will quickly file a legal objection in state court to prevent this atrocious decision in Maine from taking effect,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement Thursday night. “We are witnessing, in real-time, the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter,” he added.
The ruling comes a week after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution prohibits Trump from serving in office for a second term, citing his part in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
“President Trump incited and encouraged the use of violence and lawless action to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power,” the Colorado justices in their 134-page majority opinion.
President Trump on Truth Social:
— Vince Manfeld (@AureliusStoic1) December 27, 2023
The Michigan Supreme Court made the right decision in keeping me on the ballot. The Colorado ruling is being mocked around the world.
. pic.twitter.com/cDC1AwQJir
On Wednesday, the Colorado secretary of state announced he would include the former president on the 2024 Colorado primary ballot after Republicans filed an appeal to the Supreme Court.
“By excluding President Trump from the ballot, the Colorado Supreme Court engaged in an unprecedented disregard for the First Amendment right of political parties to select the candidates of their choice and a usurpation of the rights of the people to choose their elected officials,” the GOP’s legal party wrote in their filing.
Many other states are expected to follow Colorado’s lead in trying to have Trump removed from the ballot. However, this week, the Michigan Supreme Court rejected an attempt to remove Trump from the 2024 primary ballot based on the U.S. Constitution’s “insurrectionist ban.”
JUST IN: The Michigan Supreme Court has rejected consideration of an effort to remove Donald Trump from the 2024 primary ballot, affirming a lower court's ruling that permits a renewed challenge during the general election.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 27, 2023
It's a brief order:https://t.co/77MzU1AyTA pic.twitter.com/nxNSRyPxgz
“We are disappointed by the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision,” said Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech for People, per The Associated Press. “The ruling conflicts with longstanding US Supreme Court precedent that makes clear that when political parties use the election machinery of the state to select, via the primary process, their candidates for the general election, they must comply with all constitutional requirements in that process.”
Legal experts informed the publication that if the Supreme Court doesn’t clearly resolve the issue, it could lead to chaos in November — or in January 2025.
