Maine Secretary of State Unilaterally Bans Trump From Primary Ballot Over J6 'Insurrection'

The fundamental right of any American citizen to vote freely, fairly and to have their vote counted is the premise of our democracy. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are not values to be compromised away. #FreedomToVoteAct

— Shenna Bellows (@shennabellows) January 5, 2022

We need to come together around our democracy - around voting rights, which are fundamental to everything else we care about.

— Shenna Bellows (@shennabellows) March 2, 2022

In speaking to the battle between autocracies and democracies, President Biden reminds us of a crucial struggle of our time. Our democracy is worth fighting for. It matters.

— Shenna Bellows (@shennabellows) March 2, 2022

It shouldn’t be up to the Governor or any other one person whether or not you have the right to vote. We are proud that in Maine every citizen has the right to vote regardless of current or former incarceration. https://t.co/yEUFMBpWP9

— Shenna Bellows (@shennabellows) March 29, 2023

Maine has blocked Donald Trump from its presidential primary ballot, becoming the second state to bar the former president from running, under a constitutional provision that prevents insurrectionists from holding office.

On 19 December, a decision made by Colorado's supreme court removed Trump from that state's primary ballot, citing the same constitutional clause and setting up a legal showdown at the US supreme court.

Maine's secretary of state Shenna Bellows examined the case after a group of citizens challenged Trump's eligibility and concluded that Trump should be disqualified for inciting an insurrection on January 6, 2021.

"I do not reach this conclusion lightly," said Bellows, a Democrat, in the decision. "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 is the current Republican frontrunner, and his campaign has vowed to appeal the decision. "Make no mistake, these partisan election interference efforts are a hostile assault on American democracy," said Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesperson, in a statement, also accusing Bellows of being a "a virulent leftist".

Bellows has suspended the effect of her decision until the state's highest court rules on any appeal.

Democrat Shenna Bellows explains that she personally decided that Trump was guilty of engaging in an insurrection.

So she unilaterally removed the leading Republican presidential candidate from Maine's ballot.

She gleefully tells MSDNC "I could not, unfortunately—or… pic.twitter.com/jPpmaxx9yr

— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) December 29, 2023