Maine’s top court allows Trump to remain on ballot for now
The highest court in Maine will allow former President Donald Trump to remain on the state ballot, pending a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on whether he can be removed on the basis of his alleged actions during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot.
In a per curiam opinion released Wednesday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court rejected a request from the Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and three others to have Trump removed from the ballot.
They claimed that Trump violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits people from holding public office who have "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."
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The court dismissed the appeal, concluding "that it is interlocutory and that no statutory or judicially created exception to our rule requiring a final judgment on appeal applies."
"Uncertainties regarding multiple issues of federal law pervade the proceedings pending in Maine and are likely to require additional proceedings to ensure the proper application of the law," read the per curiam opinion.
"We would run a high risk of issuing an advisory opinion if we decided the matter on the merits before a final judgment has been entered."
The Supreme Judicial Court noted that, if it decided to "issue a final decision, only then to learn from the Supreme Court that, for instance, Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment is not self-executing or that all findings regarding insurrection must be reached by a higher standard of proof than the Secretary of State applied, a flurry of court activity would ensue in an effort to reopen the decision of the Secretary of State or seek independent judicial relief, causing delay that the existing interlocutory order might avoid."
In late December, Bellows, a Democrat, issued a decision concluding that Trump couldn't be on the Republican Primary ballot, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
"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," she stated at the time.
"The events of January 6, 2021 were unprecedented and tragic. They were an attack not only upon the Capitol and government officials, but also an attack on the rule of law. The evidence here demonstrates that they occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of, the outgoing President."
Five days after Bellows' decision, Trump appealed, with a lower court judge putting a stay on the legal proceedings pending a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Donald Trump v. Norma Anderson, which centers on if Colorado could ban Trump from the ballot.
Last year, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that Trump was ineligible to be on the state ballot, citing the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment. In dissent, Chief Justice Brian Boatwright contends that a candidate shouldn't be removed from the ballot without an official "determination from a proceeding (e.g., a prosecution for an insurrection-related offense) with more rigorous procedures to ensure adequate due process."
Maine is scheduled to hold its Republican Primary on March 5, while the Supreme Court is expecteded to hear oral arguments on Feb. 8. According to The Associated Press, Maine has already mailed out overseas ballots for the primary.
