Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows introduced Friday that she can be interesting a decrease court docket ruling that positioned on maintain her choice to maintain former President Donald Trump off the state’s GOP main poll.
In late December, Bellows, who’s her state’s high election official, dominated that the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause” bars Trump from searching for re-election, citing his central position in fomenting the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol. The Supreme Court not too long ago agreed to evaluate an identical ruling in Colorado, and is slated to listen to oral arguments on the query on February 8.
“Like many Americans, I welcome a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Colorado case that provides guidance as to the important Fourteenth Amendment questions in this case,” Bellows mentioned in an announcement. “This appeal ensures that Maine’s highest court has the opportunity to weigh in now, before ballots are counted, promoting trust in our free, safe and secure elections.”
Bellows’ announcement comes after a state Superior Court choose on Wednesday dominated that Bellows’ choice could be placed on maintain till the Supreme Court guidelines on the difficulty, arguing that “many of the issues presented in this case are likely to be resolved, narrowed, or rendered moot by the Supreme Court’s decision.” Without ruling on the deserves of Bellows’ choice, Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy dominated that the Secretary of State must problem a brand new ruling after the nation’s highest court docket comes down on the difficulty.
In her assertion, Bellows argued that “Maine law provides the opportunity to seek review from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.” But in a ruling launched late Friday, Valerie Stanfill, the court docket’s chief justice, wrote that the Superior Court’s order was “generally not appealable,” and gave Bellows a deadline of Tuesday to clarify why the court docket shouldn’t dismiss her enchantment.
Maine is only one of at the least 35 states legally difficult Trump’s eligibility on main ballots; lawsuits are nonetheless ongoing in lots of states. The former president’s authorized crew launched its opening transient within the Supreme Court case on Thursday, arguing that the authorized challenges “promise to unleash chaos and bedlam if other state courts and state officials follow Colorado’s lead and exclude the likely Republican presidential nominee from their ballots.” Trump called on the court to “put a swift and decisive end” to the challenges.
With Maine and Colorado GOP voters set to go to the polls on March 5, when 15 states will hold “Super Tuesday” nominating contests, the timeline on these circumstances is tight. It’s unclear whether or not the Supreme Court will even be capable to rule on the difficulty by that main date. Nicholas Jacobs, an assistant professor of presidency at Maine’s Colby College, advised The New York Times Friday that “the only thing we can be sure of is that, come Super Tuesday, Mainers are going to be even more confused about whether their vote counts.”