Maine elections official disqualifies Trump from presidential primary ballot

WASHINGTON: Maine on Thursday disqualified Donald Trump from the state ballot in next year’s U.S. presidential primary election, becoming the second state to bar the former president for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, concluded that Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, incited an insurrection when he spread false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election and then urged his supporters to march on the Capitol to stop lawmakers from certifying the vote.

“The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government,” Bellows wrote in a 34-page ruling.

The decision can be appealed to a state Superior Court, and Bellows suspended her ruling until the court rules on the matter.

Trump’s campaign said it would quickly file an objection to the “atrocious” decision.

Lawyers for Trump have disputed that he engaged in insurrection and argued that his remarks to supporters on the day of the 2021 riot were protected by his right to free speech.

Michigan SC rejects attempt to remove Trump from 2024 ballot: report

WASHINGTON: The Michigan Supreme Court has rejected an attempt to remove former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot based on the U.S. Constitution’s “insurrectionist ban,” a court document showed on Wednesday. The Michigan ruling contrasts with a decision by Colorado’s top court last week to disqualify Trump from serving as U.S. president and banning him from the primary ballot in Colorado because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. CNN reported the Michigan decision earlier. It is worth mentioning that a divided Colorado Supreme Court had declared former President Donald

The decision came after a group of former Maine lawmakers said that Trump should be disqualified based on a provision of the U.S. Constitution that bars people from holding office if they engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” after previously swearing an oath to the United States.

The former lawmakers — Kimberley Rosen, Thomas Saviello and Ethan Strimling — said in a statement that Bellows “stood on the side of democracy and our constitution in her decision to bar former President Donald Trump from Maine’s ballot.”

Rosen and Saviello are both former Republican state senators. Strimling is a former Democratic state senator.

The ruling applies only to Maine’s March primary election, but it could affect Trump’s status for the November general election. The ruling likely will add to pressure on the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve questions about Trump’s eligibility nationwide under the constitutional provision known as Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

The court’s 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices nominated by Trump.