Donald Trump removed from Maine primary ballot by secretary of state

itsonlygeorge , 6 months ago

Get fucked, Cheeto Mussolini.

IHadTwoCows , 6 months ago

Conservative screeching ensues

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

reverendsteveii , 6 months ago

they do tend to get upset when the law is applied equally without fear or favor, yeah

BreakDecks , 6 months ago

The Constitution doesn’t give the deciding power to the SCOTUS, it requires a 3/4 vote of Congress to resolve this.

It’s completely unconstitutional for the SCOTUS to be making the final decision. They should be the ones penalizing any state that doesn’t remove him from the ballot for violating the Constitution.

reverendsteveii , 6 months ago

scotus decides what the constitution means, though. and they’ll decide it doesn’t mean this, because they’re openly corrupt, bought and paid for with receipts.

rottingleaf , 6 months ago

So it’s liberals for “states’ rights”, like in “Firefly” and SW Prequels?

(Not American, so you may consider this joke dumb.)

pulaskiwasright , 6 months ago

When Republican states start doing this to democratic candidates for basically no reason, then democracy is completely over.

reverendsteveii , 6 months ago

we can’t ignore the law just because they will. we can’t fail to act in good faith just because they will act in bad faith. we can’t negotiate with domestic terrorists.

IHadTwoCows , 6 months ago

Thank you! I am really sick of hearing people defend evil as a means of self-defense. It’s literally cowering and submitting.

reverendsteveii , 6 months ago

they act as though as long as we give in to their demands the republicans will be reasonable and keep their promises. they won’t. they’re gonna press their political advantage by any means they can find, be it legal, extralegal, or just out and out terrorism and if we concede anything to them they’ll just have more leverage by which to bypass or end american democracy in their quest for full autocratic power.

fosforus , 6 months ago

Nice!

E: doubly nice because Maine actually wasn’t a 100% D state in the last 2 elections. They went 1/4 to Trump in both 2016 and 2020.

KLISHDFSDF , 6 months ago

Get rekt trumphole

Pratai , 6 months ago

Let’s keep this going folks!

Reverendender , 6 months ago

Former president Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign event held on Dec. 17 in Reno, Nev. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) Maine barred Donald Trump from the primary ballot Thursday, making it the second state in the country to block the former president from running again under a part of the Constitution that prevents insurrectionists from holding office.

The decision by Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) is sure to be appealed. The Colorado Supreme Court last week found Trump could not appear on the ballot in that state, and the Colorado Republican Party has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. The nation’s high court could resolve for all states whether Trump can run again. In 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War, the United States adopted the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to provide legal protections to those who had formerly been enslaved. In addition, Section 3 of the amendment barred those who had sworn an oath to the Constitution from holding office if they engaged in insurrection. That provision was used at the time to keep former Confederates out of office but has rarely been mentioned in recent decades.

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Trump’s critics cited that section of the Constitution after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, arguing Trump had incited and participated in an insurrection through his actions before and during the riot. They submitted challenges to his candidacy around the country.

So far, only Colorado and Maine have sided with those challenging his ability to run again. The Colorado court has put its 4-3 decision on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether to take the case, so for the time being his name is slated to appear on the primary ballot there.

“The events of January 6, 2021 were unprecedented and tragic," Bellows wrote in Thursday’s decision. "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. The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government, and [Maine law]requires me to act in response.” Story continues below advertisement

Colorado, Maine and more than a dozen other states hold their primaries on March 5, which is also known as Super Tuesday. Election officials need firm answers on who can appear on ballots weeks before then so they can print ballots and mail them to absentee voters, including ones who are overseas.

The challenges to Trump’s candidacy have focused on state primaries because Republicans won’t choose their nominee until states hold their nominating contests and the party holds its national convention in July. If Trump’s ability to run has not been resolved by then, attention would shift to the general election.

Colorado Supreme Court ruling bars Trump from primary ballot

Trump’s opponents have targeted their efforts to states where it is easiest to object to a candidate’s eligibility. In Maine, voters filed their challenges under a state law that allows them to lodge objections with the secretary of state. Bellows held an 8-hour-long live-streamed hearing on those challenges on Dec. 15 under a provision of that law and determined Thursday that Trump’s name cannot appear on Maine’s primary ballot. Story continues below advertisement

Trump has five days to appeal the determination to Maine’s Superior Court. From there, the appeal could go to the state’s Supreme Judicial Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

During the hearing, Bellows did not offer hints on how she was leaning and asked attorneys to weigh in on whether they believed she had the authority to prevent Trump’s name from appearing on the ballot. The Colorado Supreme Court issued its decision four days after Bellows held her hearing, and she allowed Trump and the challengers to file briefs responding to the ruling and say whether it should influence her thinking about whether Trump should appear on the ballot in Maine. Maine’s legislature chose Bellows as secretary of state nearly three years ago. She previously served as a state senator and executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. She was defeated in a 2014 run against Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

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On Wednesday, a day before Bellows issued her ruling, attorneys for Trump asked her to disqualify herself from the case because of past comments she made about Jan. 6. In social media posts in 2021, she called the riot at the U.S. Capitol an insurrection and said she supported Trump’s impeachment for the attack.

The high courts in Minnesota and Michigan recently allowed Trump’s name to appear on the primary ballot in those states. Meanwhile, challengers have asked the Oregon Supreme Court to review the issue. A Texas tax consultant has lost a string of challenges to Trump’s candidacy that he has filed in federal courts around the country. The most closely watched court, however, is the U.S. Supreme Court. The Colorado Republican Party filed its request for review on Wednesday and, Trump is expected to do the same soon.

Patrick Marley writes about voting issues in the Upper Midwest for The Washington Post. He previously covered the Wisconsin Capitol for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.