{"id":26884,"date":"2023-12-29T07:36:20","date_gmt":"2023-12-29T12:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=26884"},"modified":"2023-12-29T07:36:20","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T12:36:20","slug":"donald-trump-blocked-from-maine-presidential-ballot-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2023\/12\/29\/donald-trump-blocked-from-maine-presidential-ballot-in-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump blocked from Maine presidential ballot in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Maine&#8217;s top election official has ruled that Donald Trump cannot run for president next year in the state, citing a constitutional insurrection clause.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said Mr Trump was not eligible because of his actions leading up to the US Capitol riot in 2021.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Maine now joins Colorado as the two states to ban Mr Trump from the ballot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The decisions increase pressure on the US Supreme Court to weigh in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Colorado votes reliably Democratic, however Maine is more politically competitive and would be more significant for Mr Trump &#8211; the Republican frontrunner &#8211; to lose.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The Trump campaign has already said it will lodge an appeal in the state&#8217;s courts against the Maine ruling, which won&#8217;t take effect while the legal process plays out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Hours after Maine&#8217;s decision, California &#8211; America&#8217;s most populous state- announced that Mr Trump would remain on the Republican primary ballot there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Courts in other states, including Michigan and Minnesota, have also recently dismissed efforts to block Mr Trump from running as a candidate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">It is likely that the Supreme Court will make the ultimate decision as to whether Mr Trump can run for president or whether he is ineligible because of a Civil War-era amendment to the US Constitution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1o5f7ft-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-k17ofw-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-66690276\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What is the 14th Amendment?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-k17ofw-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-67779740\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Voter panel: What it means that Trump got kicked off the ballot<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Mrs Bellows&#8217; 34-page ruling says Mr Trump must be removed from Maine&#8217;s Republican primary ballot because of the 14th Amendment- which bans anyone whom has &#8220;engaged in insurrection or rebellion&#8221; from holding federal office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In her order, Mrs Bellows, a Democrat, says that Mr Trump &#8220;over the course of several months and culminating on January 6, 2021, used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters and direct them to the Capitol&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She added that his &#8220;occasional requests that rioters be peaceful and support law enforcement do not immunize his actions&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Speaking to BBC News after her ruling, Mrs Bellows said it was her duty to uphold election laws in her state, and that she hoped the &#8220;Supreme Court will settle this matter nationwide&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I&#8217;m mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on section three of the 14th Amendment. But I&#8217;m also mindful that no presidential candidate has, ever before, engaged in insurrection.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She denied her decision was politically motivated, saying it was &#8220;thorough and based on the rule of law&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Mr Trump faces upcoming trials in federal court and in the state of Georgia related to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. He has not been charged with inciting insurrection in either case.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">His campaign swiftly criticised Mrs Bellows&#8217; decision, having previously called for her to recuse herself from the process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called Mrs Bellows &#8220;a hyper-partisan Biden-supporting Democrat&#8221; and claimed she was engaging in &#8220;election interference&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He added that the campaign would &#8220;quickly file a legal objection in state court to prevent this atrocious decision in Maine from taking effect&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Mr Trump&#8217;s Republican rivals for the presidency also criticised Maine&#8217;s decision.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Florida governor Ron DeSantis said Maine&#8217;s ruling &#8220;opens up Pandora&#8217;s Box&#8221;, suggesting Republican secretaries of state could try to disqualify President Joe Biden over the issue of migrants at the southern border.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I don&#8217;t think that this ultimately will be legally sustained by the US Supreme Court. But I do think that this is going to be a constant throughout the election year, where there&#8217;s going to be different parts of these legal cases that are going to be front and centre,&#8221; he told Fox News.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Vivek Ramaswamy said &#8220;this is what an actual threat to democracy looks like&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he restated that he would &#8220;withdraw from any state&#8217;s ballot that ultimately removes Trump from its ballot&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Mr Trump&#8217;s 2024 presidential candidacy has been challenged in multiple states,\u00a0<a class=\"ssrcss-k17ofw-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-66690276\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on the grounds that the 14th Amendment bans him from holding office.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The 14th amendment was ratified after the American Civil War in order to block Confederate secessionists from returning to power after southern states re-joined the Union.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Colorado&#8217;s ban was the first instance of the Constitution being used to disqualify a presidential candidate but legal experts say the Colorado ruling will have a tough time standing up when it\u00a0<a class=\"ssrcss-k17ofw-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-67752010\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reaches the conservative-leaning US Supreme Court<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The case to remove Donald Trump from the upcoming Republican primary contest in Maine &#8211; part of the process where Republican voters choose their candidate for president &#8211; was brought by a handful of former Maine lawmakers who argued that the former president had violated his oath of office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Former federal prosecutor Joe Moreno told BBC News he believed there was &#8220;no way this holds up&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;It&#8217;s breathtakingly arrogant for her to unilaterally decide that someone has committed insurrection,&#8221; Moreno said about Mrs Bellows&#8217; ruling.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;This will create a political furore\u2026 that&#8217;s the unfortunate outcome here,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">It all leads to a Supreme Court showdown &#8211; which Mr Moreno said should take place &#8220;rapidly&#8221; to stop more states from individually determining Trump&#8217;s eligibility.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-67837639\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">Maine&#8217;s top election official has ruled that Donald Trump cannot run for president next year in the state, citing a constitutional insurrection clause. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said Mr Trump was not eligible because <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2023\/12\/29\/donald-trump-blocked-from-maine-presidential-ballot-in-2024\/\" title=\"Donald Trump blocked from Maine presidential ballot in 2024\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2,3],"tags":[10020,285,1664,8509,9401,6468],"class_list":{"0":"post-26884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headline","8":"category-news","9":"category-usa","10":"tag-14th-amendment","11":"tag-donald-trump","12":"tag-maine","13":"tag-us-constitution","14":"tag-us-election-2024","15":"tag-us-politics","16":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26884"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26887,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26884\/revisions\/26887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}