Trump challenges his ‘arbitrary’ removal from Maine’s ballot
Donald Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential election, has filed an appeal against the decision made by Maine’s top election official, Shenna Bellows, to exclude him from the ballot.
Trump is urging a state court to reverse Bellows’ action. Bellows justified her move by emphasizing her commitment to upholding the law, describing it as a “sacred obligation.”
This development follows a similar decision in Colorado, where Trump has also been disqualified from the ballot. In both states, officials invoked the insurrection clause of the US Constitution, citing Trump’s alleged role in inciting the 2021 Capitol riot.
The 14th Amendment of the Constitution prohibits individuals who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding federal office.
In the legal filing submitted on Monday regarding the Maine decision, Trump’s legal team argued that Bellows, a Democrat, exhibited bias and lacked the legal authority to exclude him from the ballot.
Additionally, the filing accuses Ms. Bellows of making “multiple errors of law” and acting “arbitrarily and capriciously”.
“President Trump will be illegally excluded from the ballot as a result of the Secretary’s actions,” the filing says.
Several similar lawsuits against Mr Trump in other parts of the US – such as Michigan and Minnesota – have been rejected.
The US Supreme Court is expected to take up the issue. A ruling by the court on Mr Trump’s eligibility would be applied nationwide.
In both Maine and Colorado, the decisions are on hold until the legal challenges are settled.
In an interview with the BBC last week, Ms. Bellows defended her actions and said she hoped that the matter would ultimately be settled by the highest court in the land.
“I’m mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on section three of the 14th Amendment,” she said. “But I’m also mindful that no presidential candidate has, ever before, engaged in insurrection.”
She also denied that her decision was in any way politically motivated, instead arguing that it was “thorough and based on the rule of law”.
Both Mr. Trump and his campaign have repeatedly decried the rulings from Maine and Colorado as politically motivated and intended to harm his chances of winning the 2024 election.
In addition to the legal wrangling over his eligibility in the election, Mr. Trump is facing trials in federal court and Georgia stemming from his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
He has not been charged with inciting insurrection in either of the two cases.
