Moving in lockstep with Colorado, Maine has become the second state to remove Donald Trump from the 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot, according to an announcement by Maine’s secretary of state.
The announcement was made last Thursday, citing the same provision the Colorado Supreme Court used just days before.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits anyone who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.
Trump’s lawyers argue that courts and state officials do not have the authority to disqualify him. They also charge that Trump was not given due process, meaning he was not given a proper, fair trial.
Finally, they claim that Trump was not an “officer” of the United States while serving as President, and therefore has never “taken an oath…to support the constitution” as stated in Section 3. Both the Colorado State Supreme Court and Maine’s secretary of state were not convinced of these arguments.
Trump took the oath of offi ce and was sworn in on Jan. 20, 2017, in front of thousands of people. The oath of office taken by U.S. presidents states, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Thursday’s decision by Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows reads in part: “Maine’s election laws thus contemplate that I review the accuracy of a candidate’s declaration that they meet the qualifications of the office they seek. I therefore disagree with Mr. Trump’s contention that only Congress can adjudicate the qualifications of a Presidential candidate. The State’s authority, and that delegated by the Legislature, require me to limit access to the primary ballot to qualified candidates.”
Each court cited multiple instances, including current U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch’s own ruling, where courts removed candidates from ballots because they “failed to meet the qualifications set forth in the U.S. Constitution.”
While Trump didn’t argue against the fact that he engaged in insurrection, both Colorado and Maine felt the need to point to the mountains of evidence that he did, contained in videos, tweets, pictures and accounts of Jan. 6 and the relevant timeframe. Some of the evidence admitted was directly from the hearings done in 2022 by the United States House Select Committee.
The 14th Amendment was passed following the Civil War to prevent people who participated in the Confederacy from holding office in the United States.
Other states with similar election laws as Colorado and Maine are expected to rule similarly, though there are subtle differences in election laws.Michigan found that since the GOP is a private entity in their state, they are allowed to nominate someone on their primary ballot, even if they are an insurrectionist. The question of whether they would be allowed on the general ballot has not been answered.
The likely appeals are expected to go to the U.S Supreme Court and there is no timeline set as of yet. With Iowa caucuses set for Jan. 15 and other ballot deadlines coming up, legal experts argue it would be beneficial for justices to decideon Trump’s eligibility as soon as possible.