2023-12-29 04:23:21
Former US President Donald Trump Disqualified from Maine Presidential Primary Ballot
Former President Donald Trump is facing another setback as the state of Maine has disqualified him from the state ballot in the upcoming 2024 US presidential primary election. This comes just days after the state of Colorado took similar action against Trump, marking the second state to do so.
Maine’s top elections official, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, cited Trump’s role in inciting the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by his supporters as the reason for his disqualification. According to Bellows, Trump’s spreading of false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election and urging of his supporters to disrupt the vote at the Capitol led to his disqualification.
In a related news, on December 19, the Colorado Supreme Court disqualified Trump from the state primary ballot, making him the first candidate in US history to be disqualified from the presidency for engaging in rioting. Trump has criticized these challenges to his candidacy as undemocratic and has announced plans to appeal the Colorado ruling to the Supreme Court.
A group of Maine lawmakers had called for Trump’s disqualification under a provision of the US Constitution that bars anyone from office if they engage in or incite rebellion after taking the oath of office. Following this, an order was issued disqualifying Donald Trump from the state ballot. However, the ruling is appealable in a state court and only applies to the March primary election.
The disqualification in Maine could potentially affect Trump’s bid to run in the November general election, and there are reports that the US Supreme Court may be pressed to answer questions about Trump’s eligibility nationwide under the constitutional provision known as Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
While Trump has not been charged with attempted sedition related to the January 6 attack, there is a federal case in Georgia against him for attempting to sabotage the 2020 election.
The disqualification in Maine comes at a time when Trump is leading the race for the 2024 Republican nomination by a large margin in opinion polls. This latest blow adds to the challenges he may face in his potential bid for the presidency in the upcoming election.
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