Former President Donald J. Trump has been banned from the GOP primary ballot in Maine in a unilateral move by the state’s rabidly partisan Democrat secretary of state who cited a dubious legal theory as the reason.
On Thursday, Shenna Bellows ruled that the Republican frontrunner was disqualified, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment banning those who have “engaged in insurrection” from office, even though Trump hasn’t been convicted for any such thing and many would argue the January 6, 2021 chaos at the Capitol had zero chance of overthrowing the entire U.S. government.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows issued this decision regarding three challenges brought by Maine voters to the nomination petitions of Donald J. Trump for the Republican primary for the President of the United States. Read the decision here: https://t.co/dCwJsC6HN9
— MaineSOS (@MESecOfState) December 28, 2023
“I do not reach this conclusion lightly,” the state’s top election official said in her 34-page ruling. “I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”
Bellows’ move comes as her counterpart, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced that Trump would be included on the ballot as the shocking ruling by four left-wing judges has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court which could once and for all end the repurposing of the Civil War-era 14th Amendment as a tool to steal modern democracy by depriving Americans of their ability to vote for the former president.
“Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and was disqualified under the Constitution from the Colorado Ballot. The Colorado Supreme Court got it right. This decision is now being appealed. I urge the U.S. Supreme Court to act quickly given the upcoming presidential primary election,” Griswold said on X, agreeing with the radical court and urging the SCOTUS to move quickly to rule on the matter.
Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and was disqualified under the Constitution from the Colorado Ballot. The Colorado Supreme Court got it right. This decision is now being appealed. I urge the U.S. Supreme Court to act quickly given the upcoming presidential primary election.
— Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) December 28, 2023
Bellows’ decision to put her thumb on the scale of what in normal times would be a free and fair election comes after Trump’s legal team called for her to recuse herself, citing a February 2021 tweet suggesting that she cannot be expected to be an unbiased public servant carrying out her official duties on behalf of her state’s citizens.
The Jan 6 insurrection was an unlawful attempt to overthrow the results of a free and fair election. Today 57 Senators including King & Collins found Trump guilty. That’s short of impeachment but nevertheless an indictment. The insurrectionists failed, and democracy prevailed.
— Shenna Bellows (@shennabellows) February 13, 2021
Trump’s campaign blasted the Maine move, calling Bellows “a virulent leftist and a hyper-partisan Biden-supporting Democrat who has decided to interfere in the presidential election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden.”
“We are witnessing, in real-time, the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter,” spokesman Steven Cheung said. “Democrats in blue states are recklessly and un-Constitutionally suspending the civil rights of the American voters by attempting to summarily remove President Trump’s name from the ballot.”
“Make no mistake, these partisan election interference efforts are a hostile assault on American democracy. Biden and the Democrats simply do not trust the American voter in a free and fair election and are now relying on the force of government institutions to protect their grip on power,” he added in a statement reported by Fox News.
The Maine Republican Party also blasted the secretary of state’s ruling.
“Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, once named the most progressive Senate candidate in America, unilaterally threw Donald Trump off the ballot,” the Maine GOP said in a statement.
“The Maine Republican Party has been fighting these backroom elites since they started their push to subvert democracy by tossing President Trump. Rest assured we’ll be fighting this in court — all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. And we reserve our right as a private organization to use a caucus system if that’s what it takes to keep a Democrat Hack Secretary of State from infringing on the Rights of Maine voters,” the party said, vowing a legal battle.
More reactions to the outrageous move:
The Maine Secretary of State’s decision to remove Trump from the ballot is reckless and partisan. I am confident the Supreme Court will reverse it.
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) December 29, 2023
Maine voters should decide who wins the election – not a Secretary of State chosen by the Legislature.
The Secretary of State’s decision would deny thousands of Mainers the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice, and it should be overturned.
— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) December 29, 2023
My statement on the Maine Secretary of State’s ruling: pic.twitter.com/ByO3XJe1JS
— Congressman Jared Golden (@RepGolden) December 29, 2023
Now, Trump is off the ballot in Maine. Remember folks, the radical leftist/marxists in charge don’t care about rules, decency, decorum, or anything other than power. They will silence and/or jail their opponents at all costs….
Until we wake up, nothing will stop them.— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) December 29, 2023
The unilateral decision of Maine’s secretary of state to disqualify Donald Trump from the ballot is insane, reckless, and indefensible. It’s another example of extraconstitutional decision-making that doesn’t come close to meeting any legitimate standard of due process of law.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) December 29, 2023
Maine’s Secretary of State @shennabellows just removed Trump from the ballot.
Like Colorado, she also stayed the move pending a Supreme Court ruling.
Definitely not election interference from partisan hacks at all. pic.twitter.com/ZxxHnKsRGT
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 29, 2023
In becoming the second state to ban Trump from the ballot, the stage is set for other Democratic Party apparatchiks to also act to rig the process, showing that the “our democracy” that leftists sanctimoniously pontificate about is just a load of rubbish.
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