On Tuesday, former President Trump appealed his disqualification from Maine’s primary ballot to Kennebec County Superior Court, initiating the next phase of the significant 14th Amendment case.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows disqualified Trump under the 14th Amendment’s insurrection ban, and the appeal triggers a swift resolution process mandated by state law.
If the dispute persists, it may eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court, mirroring a similar case in Colorado.
The judge in Maine must decide within 20 days of Bellows’s decision, with Trump’s name remaining on the ballot until then.
The losing side could appeal to Maine’s highest court, and the overall dispute might culminate at the Supreme Court.
Maine and Colorado are the only states so far to remove Trump’s name from the ballot, with over two dozen challenges filed nationwide under the 14th Amendment.
The Amendment bars individuals engaged in insurrection from holding federal office, with plaintiffs linking Trump’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack to his disqualification.
The cases raise questions about the Amendment’s applicability to the presidency and the authority of state courts and officials to enforce it.
Bellows, in her decision, acknowledged the unprecedented nature of denying ballot access based on the 14th Amendment but emphasized the unique circumstances involving insurrection.
Trump and his campaign have vigorously contested the ruling, including requesting Bellows’s recusal the day before her decision.
