Maine Secretary of State Defends Deeming Trump Ineligible to Appear on Ballot

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows speaks to the media while state workers conduct ra
AP Photo/Patrick Whittle
Hannah Knudsen

Maine’s Democrat Secretary of State Shenna Bellows defended her controversial decision to deem former President Donald Trump ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot.

Bellows announced the controversial decision on December 28, asserting that Trump is disqualified based on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment, or the Insurrection Clause.

“Specifically, I find that the declaration on his candidate consent form is false because he is not qualified to hold the office of the President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment,” she wrote in part. However, this decision will not go into effect until the Supreme Court rules on the issue “given the compressed timeframe, the novel constitutional questions involved, the importance of this case, and impending ballot preparation deadlines,” the secretary of state’s office said at the time.

Regardless of the backlash, Bellows defended her ruling during an appearance Tuesday on WFEA Radio. According to the NH Journal, she used President Biden’s absence from the New Hampshire ballot as a defense, asserting that Article I gives states authority to “decide who appears on ballot.” However, it was Biden’s decision to keep his name off the ballot in New Hampshire, following the lead of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which made South Carolina the first official primary contest for Democrats, contending it is a more diverse state. New Hampshire, however, refused to comply and charged on with its first in the nation primary status, deciding to hold its election January 23:

That aside, Bellows continued to defend her decision, asserting that “the record shows the events of January 6 was an insurrection” and an “attack” on the “peaceful transfer of power,” according to the NH Journal.

“‘…I did determine’ Trump was directly involved in the attack on the Capitol,” @shennabellows tells @WFEAradio,” the NH Journal reported.

“Says there’s no need for a court/jury to convict someone for insurrection, she can simply determine for herself that someone ‘engaged’ in insurrection,” the outlet added:

“It’s my duty to determine if the candidates are qualified for the office they seek,” Bellows reportedly said:

Her decision coincides with the ruling made by the Colorado Supreme Court, whose left-leaning justices determined that the Constitution’s ‘Insurrection Clause’ prohibits former President Trump from appearing on the ballot. He will, however, appear on the ballot as the process continues to play out.

“With the appeal filed, Donald Trump will be included as a candidate on Colorado’s 2024 Presidential Primary Ballot when certification occurs on January 5, 2024, unless the US Supreme Court declines to take the case or otherwise affirms the Colorado Supreme Court ruling,” Colorado’s Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s office said in a press release.

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