Maine Excludes Trump from 2024 Primary Ballot Over Insurrection Allegations

(CTN News) – An official in Maine has ruled that Republican contender and former US President Donald Trump cannot vote in the 2024 presidential primary because of his ties to the insurgency. Trump was thus removed from the ballot.

Democrat Shenna Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state, announced the disqualification of Donald Trump from the ballot on Thursday, using a US Constitutional provision that prohibits anybody who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from being elected to public office.

According to Bellows, Trump should not be allowed to run because the US Capitol storming on January 6 had “occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of” the former president.

In his 34-page decision, Bellows stated, “I do not reach this conclusion lightly.”.

“The right to vote is a fundamental democratic principle, and our state’s highest court has affirmed time and time again that “no right is more essential in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who write the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live.”

By the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment, I am aware that no Secretary of State has ever denied a presidential contender the right to vote. On the other hand, I’m well aware that no presidential contender in history has ever plotted an uprising.

Shortly following the announcement, the Donald Trump campaign announced its intention to fight the judgment in court.

According to Trump’s campaign spokesman Steven Cheung, who characterized Bellows as a “virulent leftist and a hyper-partisan Biden-supporting Democrat,” the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter is being witnessed “in real-time.”

By seeking to immediately remove the name of President Trump from the ballot, Democrats in blue states are irresponsibly and unlawfully suspending the voting rights of American citizens.

Following the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this month disqualifying Donald Trump from running due to his role in the January 6 rebellion, Maine has now followed suit.

A high-stakes decision that might determine his eligibility on a national level is possible since Donald Trump has indicated that he will appeal the Colorado case to the US Supreme Court, where he appointed three of the six justices.

Although the former business magnate and current US politician is facing criminal accusations related to his alleged involvement in efforts to reverse the 2020 election results, he has not yet faced rebellion charges.

Given its odd configuration that permits it to split its four votes in the electoral college, Democratic-leaning Maine—one of the least populated US states—could play a disproportionate role in the 2024 election.

Both in 2016 and 2020, Donald Trump earned one electoral vote from the rural 2nd district.