Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, has withdrawn her ruling to disqualify Donald Trump from the state’s Republican primary following the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in Colorado.
BREAKING: Supreme Court reverses Colorado 14th Amendment decision in #Unanimous 9-0 victory for President Trump!
pic.twitter.com/wvFb1kiR4M
— DailyNoah.com (@DailyNoahNews) March 4, 2024
“I have reviewed the Anderson decision carefully. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that individual states lack authority to enforce Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment with respect to federal offices,” Bellows wrote.
“Consistent with my oath and obligation to follow the law and the Constitution, and pursuant to the Anderson decision, I hereby withdraw my determination that Mr. Trump’s primary petition is invalid,” she added.
“Secretary Bellows withdrew Part D.2 of the December 28, 2023 Ruling – the section that pertains to state enforcement of Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment – as well as the Ruling’s conclusion. As a result of the modified ruling, votes cast for Mr. Trump in the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election will be counted,” a press release from Bellow’s office read.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows withdraws Trump ballot ban https://t.co/DiXYEUoqla pic.twitter.com/MQp4kogr9e
— The Hill (@thehill) March 4, 2024
The Hill reports:
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled earlier Monday that only Congress has the authority to enforce the 14th Amendment to disqualify federal candidates.
ADVERTISEMENTOriginally designed to keep ex-Confederates from returning to power, the 14th Amendment prevents individuals who took an oath to support the Constitution and then engaged in insurrection from returning to office, unless Congress votes to lift their disqualification.
It fell dormant for decades before anti-Trump voters and groups began filing dozens of lawsuits against Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
In December, Maine became the second state to block Trump from its primary ballots. Colorado was the first state to disqualify Trump, after a group of Republican and independent voters filed a lawsuit backed by the nonpartisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
— Proud Elephant
(@ProudElephantUS) March 5, 2024
WMTW 8 noted:
At the end of December, Bellows ruled Trump’s primary petition was “invalid.” At the time, Bellows concluded Trump did not qualify to hold the office of president under section three of the 14th Amendment. Maine became the second state to bar Trump from the ballot.
In her original decision, she said Trump “used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters and direct them to the Capitol to prevent certification of the 2020 election and the peaceful transfer of power.”
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