President Donald Trump has been removed from the 2024 Presidential Primary Ballot in Maine. Or… at least Maine’s Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, has attempted to make this happen. The “selected” official says she took it upon herself to follow the law in Maine and remove Trump from the ballot due to his participation in the events of January 6th.
Bellows’s reasoning follows Colorado’s ultimately failed strategy of citing Article 3 of the 14th Amendment that precludes participants in insurrections from holding public office. And, just the same as Colorado, Bellows was forced to “suspend” her decision pending a ruling by the US Supreme Court. This means that Trump will actually not be removed from the ballot as long as he appeals the decision made by Bellows. Legal experts said that this would be the likely outcome of an attempt to remove Trump from the Primary ballot.
The reason why Bellows did this is probably the same reason Colorado has. To demoralize the voter base and make them think that there is no reason to vote. Another reason could be that people may vote for a different person in the primary so Trump would not get the nomination.
SOURCES:
Maine elections official disqualifies Trump from presidential primary ballot | Reuters
Trump campaign slams Maine move to block him from 2024 primary ballot | AP News
Maine’s top election official rules Trump ineligible for 2024 primary ballot
Risks of US electoral chaos deepen after Trump is barred from another state ballot | CNN Politics
Trump’s removal from Maine ballot ‘opens Pandora’s box’, DeSantis says | Donald Trump | The Guardian
Donald Trump removed from Maine primary ballot by secretary of state – The Washington Post
